Denise:

Do you really have to ask for permission to go in to see a patient on
your unit?  I agree with you that even if the baby would not survive,
expressing milk for her baby is the only tangible thing she can do, as
she is helpless in helping her infant. This mother may also feel as if
she's crazy for wanting to express milk with the poor prognosis and needs
someone to support her needs even if the breastmilk is never used for
this child.

I recently had a mother with an anencephalic baby, one of her goals was
to nurse her baby if she lived.  She did, suckled just momentarily, and
mom provided EBM for her daughter for the remainder of her life on earth.
Providing breastmilk for her child was part of her goal as it is for your
patient.

Good Luck, I hope you can get to see her.

Christine A. Raasch, RN, IBCLC
Menomonee Falls WI

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