Hi all,
I have been contacted by a Mama whose baby has what's called an omphalocele.
Basically he has an abdominal wall defect or a very large hernia. (plain
english, he was born with his intestines, stomach and liver outside his
body).
He was born post term at 9lbs 10oz. He can't be fed until his surgeries are
over with and that will likely be at least another 5 months (perhaps longer,
perhaps shorter...they really don't know). Right now he's being fed through
an IV directly into an artery near his heart. (and he's lost weight. ) His
intestines, since they are not where they are supposed to be, cannot handle
food right now. He'll probably then move to NG tube feedings or G-tube
feedings before we even get to the breast (if ever). He's also on a
ventilator and will be on that until he's done with his surgeries.
Anyway, the hospital he is in is giving her atrocious advice, that she should
just pump and dump because they don't have room to store it all. We've
talked about donating milk and keeping her supply up for when he does start
on actual food feedings. This is what she's anticipating doing right now.
But is there any other advice? She's so tired and stressed out from trying
to pump around the clock by herself when noone is really telling her she's
doing the right thing. I am encouraging and helping her find other Mums in
the same situation, and she's in contact with another LC in her area, but
it's taking its toll, combined with visiting her sick baby all day.
What about this medical problem? Obviously IV nutrition is less than ideal,
and breastmilk when he can have it will be the best thing.
She's asked me if she can cut back the pumping and increase her supply again
when he is taking breastmilk. I explained how it's not ideal, but that we
can help to increase her supply later if we have to. As an adoptive nursing
mother myself, I know it can be done with some effort, so will be able to
give her some tips. She is pumping the right amount for him if he was taking
oral feeds right now, but if she slows down pumping, to just 3 times a day as
she wants, this will obviously be difficult to maintain.
Anyway, does anyone have anything else to add?
Thanks in advance,
Kerri Smith
Future IBCLC!
British Columbia, Canada
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
