I got a call tonight from a mom with a 9 week old son with a chylothorax.
The baby is on portagen.  Mom has been pumping all this time to keep up her
milk supply and wants very much to be able to put her baby to the breast.
She said, "He is always rooting at my breast.  I just know he would be a
wonderful nurser."  She is going to see the pulmonologist on April 4 and
would like to have some information concerning options to show him.  I have
searched the archives for information on this condition.  My first thought
was that the mother could pump and then immediately feed the baby the
portagen with an SNS.  I saw this suggested in the archives also.  Would
anyone disagree with this?  Is there any concern with the small amount of
breastmilk the baby would receive?  Several doctors on Lactnet did say that a
baby with a chylothorax should not breastfeed.  So my question then is:  If
this is a contraindication to breastfeeding, why is it not listed in Ruth
Lawrence's "A Review of the Medical Benefits and Contraindications to
Breastfeeding in the United States?"  According to what I have read, there
are only 5 contraindications:  HIV, HTLV-1, antimetabolites, therapetutic
doses of radiopharmaceuticals, and drugs of abuse.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Cher Sealy, RN, BSN, IBCLC
Montgomery, Alabama

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html