Hi all,

I did search the archives and found quite a few postings on this but the
recent discussion on milk synthesis and a recent phone call has me
posting this question. The mum has been having very strong letdowns and
the baby does not need to worry too much about getting the milk out, it
just pours into her. There is a lot of spluttering and choking, the baby
rarely nurses longer than 10 minutes and is becoming increasingly
distressed about nursing. Baby is now 4 weeks old, this has been going
on since a newborn, and most of the usual suggestions (nursing on one
breast for several feedings, nursing lying down, reclining whil nursing,
etc) do not seem to have had much effect. She said if she pumps a bit
before nursing that when the baby begins to nurse, the milk still shoots
out. She was getting to the end of her rope, and wondered about pumping
and feeding in a bottle part of the time, nursing the rest. Are
overproduction and OALD part of the same pie? One suggestion in the
Breastfeeding Answer Book was to increase the frequency of nursing so
that the amount of milk stored was less, making feedings more manageable
for the baby. But increasing frequency of feedings is also recommended
to increase milk supply. Coach Smith said today: "The emptier the
breast, the faster milk is made. The fuller it is, the slower the rate
of synthesis."

I was somewhat at a loss as to other suggestions to cope with this. Does
the time it takes for supply to adjust vary a lot? Even if the supply is
adjusted to baby's demand, will the baby still have to cope with a
strong letdown? Weight gain is great. This was not an issue with her
first child.

Thanks for the collective wisdom,
Donna Hansen
Burnaby, BC