I am thrilled, and a bit envious, to hear about the mom wanting to 
breastfeed a baby she adopted at 10 days old!  Breastfeeding my adopted 
babies has been the most wonderful experience I have ever had!  The fact 
that she had no time to prepare in no way decreases her chances for success. 
  Had she been able to prepare, she may have been able to be producing some 
milk, now, but she can still expect to establish a normal breastfeeding 
relationship with her baby, and produce a significant amount of milk, 
starting from where she is now.  Many of us have started from the brass 
tacks, with babies who arrived with little or no notice.  That was the case 
with Thomas, my third adopted child, but the first that I managed to 
establish a significant milk supply and long-term (4 years) nursing 
relationship with.  I started feeding with the Lact-Aid as soon as he was 
able to come home.  At that time, I knew nothing about herbs or medications, 
or even high quality breast pumps.  I succeeded just with his suckling.  He 
was very healthy, and my relationship with him is still extremely close, at 
age 16.  It would have been well worth the effort if I never produced any 
milk, but I estimated that, on the average, he was getting about 12 ounces a 
day from me.  That is in the average range for moms who have never given 
birth to a baby, who have nothing but suckling to stimulate it.  With the 
info we now have about herbs and domperidone, as well as various other 
tricks, the average tends to be higher.  I produced more milk with my fifth 
child, with whom I drank gallons of fenugreek and fennel tea (and smelled 
like waffles with syrup).

I would strongly suggest that this mom start out with the Lact-Aid.  There 
are some things about the SNS that, I think, may make it more practical for 
use in a clinical setting. However, for moms who need to get set up to nurse 
8+ times a day, without help, the Lact-Aid is much more practical.  I have 
never heard of an adoptive who has had a significant amount of experience 
nursing with both supplementers, who did not prefer the Lact-Aid.  A few of 
the reasons for this are that It is much easier to get set up to nurse with 
(especially nice when there is a baby screaming to be fed), more comfortable 
to wear and easier to clean adequately.  Probably the biggest single factor 
is that it is so much easier to conceal under clothing, which tends to help 
moms feel alot more comfortable nursing in front of others.

I would also suggest that she concentrate, first, on getting her baby 
latched and properly suckling the breast at feedings, using the supplementer 
to provide whatever formula is needed.  To start off worrying about whether 
there is any milk yet won't cause milk to be produced any sooner, and may 
make it more difficult to learn to manage, and enjoy, feeding at the breast. 
  Establishing that relationship is the best way to assure that there will 
be milk, too, so you really can't lose by taking that approach.  I think it 
is a good idea to spend a predetermined about of time, such as two weeks, 
getting the logistics of breastfeeding down, before trying to determine if 
there is milk yet.  If getting the baby suckling the breast is the only 
thing an adoptive mom does, she will most likely be producing some amount of 
milk within two weeks.  Also, it is a good idea for the mom to know how to 
do hand expression.  Often, moms who are only producing a small amount of 
milk will not be able to pump anything, and think there is no milk when 
there actually is some.

If this mom wants to use medication, I would suggest domperidone only.  
Birth control pills can be helpful used for months before the baby arrives 
but, once there is a baby suckling the breast, the BCPs are more likely to 
be counterproductive, than anything.

I can go on all day about this topic!  This mom would be welcome to contact 
me, if she wants, at [log in to unmask] .  I would also suggest that she 
go to the Adoptive Breastfeeding Resource Website (ABRW) at 
www.fourfriends.com/abrw .  There are moms there who are/have breastfed 
adopted infants/children under a very wide variety of circumstances.

Darillyn STarr
Adoptive mom of six

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