Erin Michaud posts about a mother whose milk supply has been low all along, after many unfortunate events around the birth. I don't know enough about teratomas and fatty liver to say anything intelligent about how they might affect lactation. But delaying the start of breastfeeding is never an advantage, and retained placental fragments are a major culprit in preventing prolactin surge. That's why I was startled to read this: "After the D & C the surgeon told her that there were placental fragments in her uterus still that weren't able to be removed." Retained placenta can cause prolonged bleeding, increase the risk of endometritis, and of course impede milk production. In some cases there is malignant invasion of the myometrium from placental fragments. Even though she is understandably traumatized and worn down by all this, she should very definitely make sure that her doctor is not concerned about this last possibility! Surely there is a medical plan for how to follow this woman until the placental fragments have been expelled? I've literally never heard of just leaving retained placenta in the uterus because it wasn't 'able to be removed'. Perhaps she misunderstood? I'm more than willing to be educated on this, if there is something I have missed in my profession in the last 20 years or so. I was trained to be scrupulous about making sure the entire placenta is delivered before so much as leaving the mother's side after birth, and I have not heard that there are exceptions to this rule. Rachel Myr, *midwife*/IBCLC Kristiansand, Norway *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome