Lactnetters,

I just received an intriguing LLL phone call from a 35 yo mother who is 5
weeks away from her due date with baby number 4.  The mother claims that
she and two other LCs have concluded that her body must not make
oxytocin, possibly due to meningitis suffered as a young child.

She had her first baby at age 16, and went 4 weeks overdue before she was
finally induced.  With every baby she has "never gone into labor" (though
one was induced early due to fetal distress), but required prostaglandin
for ripening and then pitocin for labor.  With breastfeeding, her milk
would come in but her babies would nurse and nurse and not swallow much
and get thinner and thinner.  With her last baby, the two LCs helping her
tried pumping her, an SNS, and then at 2 mos postpartum, syntocinon.  Mom
is now looking for syntocinon in preparation for her next baby.

I have never heard of meningitis destroying the capacity to produce
oxytocin.  I do know that oxytocin is produced through the hypothalamus
and released by the posterior pituitary, and if the mother produced milk,
then we know that the anterior pituitary is functioning.  I asked mom if
she experiences orgasms, and she told me YES.  If orgasms are triggered
by oxytocin responses, then it is obvious to me that she has to have at
least *some* oxytocin in her system.  So why no labors and no MER?

First, I want to ask if anyone has ever heard of any similar situation
correlating loss of oxytocin with meningitis, or whatever.

Secondly, the rest of the discussion.  I'm suspicious. I asked the mother
if her first baby was the result of a traumatic experience, and she said
no. Then she said, "I can see you want to hear my life history.  Well, I
was sexually abused from age two through five by a cousin, and after that
an uncle abused me until I was a teenager...."

I see a huge potential here for a psychologically related inhibition of
oxytocin related to birth and breastfeeding and past molestations.  I
plan to refer this mom to Nancy Williams, who just happens to live in
town and authored the recent JHL article on this subject, but I also want
to be sure to rule out possible physical causes before pursuing
psychological ones.  Input, anyone?

-Lisa Marasco, BA, IBCLC