Dear All,
I have currently been treating a first-time mother for a fragile milk supply for
the last 5 weeks---essentially since the birth of her baby. He was born at 5
lbs 10 oz and was dc'd at 3 days of age at 5 lbs 2 oz. His voids and stools
have always been adequate, but his weight gain was initially on the slower
side. He was sent home with a shield that he really didn't like. I saw her
initially when he was 4 days old and he weighed 5 lbs 3 and 1/2 oz. He looked
great, and obviously didn't need the shield. She continued to use it however,
as she thought he "didn't nurse long enough" without it. I saw him again at 3
weeks and convinced her to not use the shield after a pre and post weight
showing a 1.4 oz milk transfer in 10 mins without the shield. He also had only
gained 1 0z in 6 days, so I had her start lots of S2S, pumping frequently
(she's going back to work in 10 days), no more shield, and to see how things
go.
A week later he had gained 7 oz and Mom was much more pleased with how
things were going. However, she was concerned that she could only pump 1-1
and 1/2 oz of milk/day with frequent pumping to store for going back to work.
She also stated she never feels full and wasn't feeling her let down like she
had in the earlier days of breastfeeding. I assured her that not all women do,
and that his weight gain was reflective of an adequate supply. She wants to
be able to store up more milk however, and asked me about fenugreek. At the
time, we knew her baby was being tested for a clotting disorder after bleeding
profusely after his circ at three weeks of age. Because of fenugreeks blood-
thinning properties, I didn't want her to use it. Instead, I had her try Brewer's
Yeast, lots of nursing and pumping, and RELAXING. Anyway, she called me
today (5 days later) and says she notices no increase in her supply
whatsoever and that she and the baby are gassy. She'd like to try something
else to boost her supply especially since the extra pumping is getting to be a
burden.
Any suggestions? Does the blood thinning effects of fenugreek affect the
baby? He has since been diagnosed with hemophilia and I want to make sure
we don't use anything that would interfere with his blood clotting. Has anyone
else had experience with this?
Thank you!
Denise A. Schuler BSN, RNC, CLC
Powell Valley Healthcare
Powell, WY
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