Short case report, for the record.
Mother took Dostinex (brand name for cabergoline, lactation suppressant
drug) on day 3, and regretted having done so a short time later. Over the
next few days she decided to try to breastfeed again anyway.  She carried
baby in a sling to keep her close, used paced bottle feeding for the
formula she had to give for 21 days, while hand expressing to maintain
supply.  In the first week, production dwindled to almost nothing and
stayed very low for the second week. After two weeks she noticed it was
increasing again. We were unable to find any information that would allow
me to advise her to wait for less than three weeks.

Using the biological nurturing position, baby was invited back to breast
when awake but not desperately hungry. Had to dribble a little formula on
nipple to get baby focused, and then she attached herself and fed for about
20 minutes, falling asleep at the end. She woke up when lifted off by
mother, and took the other breast without hesitation.

This goes counter to a lot of the beliefs people working in maternity care
here have: that if you interrupt breastfeeding for any more than a single
feed, it is unrecoverable, and especially if baby is fed by bottle,
to mention the two main ones. We all know the drive to breastfeed persists
for a long time but it's not common knowledge. For me, it was the constant
input here on Lactnet about adoptive breastfeeding, plus my limited
experience with relactation, that gave me the confidence to support this
particular mother through the process. It was not hard in this case. The
baby didn't even seem surprised to be breastfeeding again. So, to all of
you who have contributed to the gold mine that is our archives, thank you!

I haven't gone into the background of how she ended up getting cabergoline
- obviously there is a story there, but it's not for Lactnet :-)
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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