I have permission to post. I am working with a mother who has been on
Paxil for two years. Her baby is nearly a month old, and the baby has
not breastfed well ever.  She was taking a long time to eat, like 2
hours, and the mother is very sore, and totally overwhelmed. She has
been pumping once every 1.5 hours with a small battery pump (!), and has
kept up a very good supply.

During the visit, the baby was able to latch on well, and nurse until
content. She drank a lot at breast, and audible swallowing was heard.
Baby is gaining like a champ, but has been bottlefed breastmilk because
of pain and baby's extreme fussiness and impatience at breast. The baby
has extremely high muscle tone, in that she gets rigid...and goes from
zero to 60 in a heartbeat, screaming, flailing, and pushing away.  It
really is more than I have seen in other babies...the rigidity and the
fierceness with which she cries and pushes when frustrated by flow that
does not come immediately. She is not soft and cushy like a lot of
babies..not elastic and cozy.  She is tense. That is the word.

Has anyone seen or heard of a baby whose mother was on Paxil during
pregnancy, and behaved in this way afterwards? I read in Hale's book
today of pp withdrawal symptom in babies whose mothers were on Paxil
during pregnancy. I think this might be it, but I welcome input from
others who might have experience with this. She was able to breastfeed
well during the visit, and we took photos for her to look at later...
But soon after, the baby got very agitated, and the mother was bummed
and crying by supper, as she could not get it right without me there.

Sometimes, I feel like we need to create a washing spot by the river,
where we can all go and help each other do whatever it is that we do,
wash clothes, nurse, manage teens, elderly parents, etc. This
mothering/living in isolation in our "modern" culture is not what it is
"cracked up to be."

Kathleen

Kathleen Bruce RN IBCLC
Independent consultant:
Lactation Resources of Vermont;  Medela, Inc.
Listowner Lactnet listserv
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