Tia, Regarding the mother with all physical problems surrounding the birth and
still not making enough milk at 2 months:
At an ILCA conference in Atlanta several years ago, a doctor was researching
the importance of the milk supply being established within the first four
weeks, and maybe six weeks, although that may be stretching it. With all the
calories and energy this mother had to use for her own body, I'm guessing the
maturation of the mammary glands and their ability to produce abundant milk
was not a priority in those early weeks, therefore the inability to ever make
a full supply. You have certainly exhausted the bag of tricks. I would think
encouraging her to continue on as she is and praising her for making any milk
in her situation would be a good thing. Sounds like the baby needs a few more
calories yet for the optimal 1 oz. gain per day. Is she delivering the
complimentary milk in an SNS? If she can get on to the gadget, it may shorten
her feeding times, plus encourage her own supply. I always tell moms that,
according to the Iowa Extension Service, that every tsp. of breastmilk has
3,000,000 germ killing cells in it; so if a baby gets even one tsp. a day, it
is very valuable! One other thought: I used my Microsoft 4.0 program to
produce a certificate of valor for moms who have struggled with breastfeeding.
Something like that might help her understand her importance, even though it
isn't up to her standard of nursing for six months without supply problems.
Cheryl Kissling, RN, IBCLC