At the ILCA confernce in 1997 Derstin Uvnas-Moberg, MD,PHD spoke of the
interference of oxytocin in the mother with the use of pitocin and
epidurals. I am seeing many mothers whose labors were induced for various
reasons and some of these are having major problems reacting to their
babies in a normal maternal pattern.

Do any of you remember if Dr. Uvnas-Moberg had to anything to say about the
time it takes for this interference to be resolved?

I have a client whose baby is 10 days old and she is going to pump and give
EBM in a bottle because of what I see as not being able to see the baby as
"hers." That is an inadequate description but the mother seems like a woman
who would be beginning to show "in love" signs by now, and they aren't there.

She has had very few breastfeeding problems and yet she can't take the
feeding.
She seems overwhelmed with responsibility. I'm wondering if it could be due
to the hormonal interference.

She has never had to deal with depression.

Labor was induced because the OB said that the baby was 9# and Mother would
not be able to deliver it. Baby weighed 6# 1oz. And high levels of pitocin
were used along with the expected epidural and forceps.

I doubt that there is any "evidence" to go on here, but do any of you have
any ideas or experience. This mother *is* going to bottle feed for now. I
hope that she changes her mind soon and returns to breastfeeding. She will,
of course, see that pumping is extra work.

Isn't it strange that often the mothers who have the fewest problems with
milk supply, latch on, soreness, and fussy babies are the ones who "just
can't take it any more."  I know that the women whom I work with come with
their whole histories inside them and the birth of the baby is just one
experience that gets played out amidst all of the others. And they need all
of the hormonal assistance that they can get.

Any words from you folks out there? I am quite puzzled.

Pat Gima


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