Hi, Sonya.  I have found, MANY times, that mothers who suffer from delayed L
II (milk slow to come in) often have undersupply in the first 4 - 6 weeks.
Many of those mothers then seem to 'switch gears' and between 4 - 12 weeks
will often suffer from oversupply.  I am not expert enough to explain what
is happening physiologically... but...
 
It can very confusing for us LC's, never mind other health care
professionals who do not understand lactation, to uncover the truth of what
is plagueing our clients, especially when the symptoms appear similar.
Couple that with the fact that once a woman suffers from low milk
production, it is extremely difficult for her to accept that she may well
have TOO much milk a few weeks later.
 
When I think I might be dealing with one of these very complex situations, I
find myself doing a lot of math!  I look carefully at baby's weight gain
pattern, mom's reported history of milk production (they often are still
pumping), and any amounts that baby may be ingesting via supplement.  Often
times, I find that baby is ingesting Way.  Too.  Much.  And, you can bet
that these parents complain of baby being fussy or gassy or colicky, or
'always wanting to breastfeed'.
 
In my mind, though some here may disagree with me, true low supply should
only be considered if baby is not growing satisfactorily with feeding at the
breast alone, if feeding at breast is being managed appropriately (i.e.
every three hours at minimum).  The question is, how can we know for sure
when we have a mom who is breastfeeding, pumping, offering EBM, and perhaps
also offering formula supplemetation?  In situations like this, I suggest
weaning mom off of pumping and supplementation while watching baby's weight
gain pattern AND baby's behaviour accordingly.  This can, and should, take a
number of weeks.  It's important that the PATTERN of weight
gain/maintain/loss be looked at closely, and that isolated weights are not
used to determine growth or milk production.   
 
If all goes well, and mom is on galactagogues, she can be weaned off those
slowly as well.
 
Not sure if I answered your questions or not, but I hope I have a helped a
little!
 


Karyn-grace Clarke, IBCLC, RLC
Registered Lactation Consultant
HAPPY TRIBE CONSULTING
 <http://www.happytribe.ca/> www.happytribe.ca 
Nanaimo, BC, 250-739-3146

 

 

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