There have been so many thoughtful comments on this issue.
I am reminded of a few cases I've encountered of "modern stress." In domestic disputes and custody battles I have seen nursing children and their mothers separated abruptly and without warning, sometimes with violence. In such cases, after a period of separation and then reunion, mothers have reported to me that though their milk "stopped" and then "returned," they felt their supply was never the same again. My understanding has been that their bodies no longer respond as well to the vagaries of life. Is this a true physiological response? Do these mothers "simply" no longer trust their bodies to work for them, or is that lack of trust justified?
Some mothers seem to nurse through tremendous challenges with little impact on milk supply or release, others report a permanent change to the nursing relationship. I wonder how different this is from the lesser challenges that, again, have little effect on many nursing couples but puzzle some mothers and their counselors with weeks or months of work to re-establish a "normal" relationship.
Perhaps the most curious modern stress is the assumption hurled at many mothers (unsupported, untrue) that they may not be able to feed the children they have labored so hard to bring into the world. It is particularly ironic that this challenge be laid in the lap of an overfed, privileged population. Surely mothers in a culture of abundance might be considered undernourished on several levels. It might even be that a closer look at the privilege of stress sheds light on separate issues of deprivation -- nutrition, safety, knowledge, that nebulous experience of support.
An interesting thought as we approach World Breastfeeding Week and WABA's message, aimed at all of us this year, to offer a gold standard of mother support. The longer I work in support of nursing mothers, the more complicated I understand the reality of support to be.
Susan Johnson MFA, IBCLC
Salt Lake City, Utah USA
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:33:06 -0700
From: gonneke van veldhuizen <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: malnutrition and stress
--- On Tue, 7/15/08, Karleen Gribble <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
will dry up in response to stress or if food has been restricted. Both these
circumstances are common in emergencies and while some women continue to breastfeed throughout, many do not...the consequences are serious.
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I think one has to discriminate between several processes here. Does the milk ''dry up' is there a sudden stop in milk productionr or does the milk flow stop stress causing the MER to fail because of restricted oxytocin response? Or are moms in stress to a degree that they forget to feed their child?
I do not think that stress or temporarily hunger will cause prolactin to stop working and thus for milk production to stop. When however the milk flow
stops, either because of cessation of feeds or because stress restricts oxytocin release, then FIL will kick in and milk production will decrease or stop.
Warmly giving my 2cents,
Gonneke, IBCLC, LLLL in southern Netherlands
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