My experience has been that when these moms are so critically ill  
their body has to heal somewhat before they begin to produce milk. I  
have often wondered if it has something to do with survival mode for  
the mom. I remember one mom in ICU for 2 weeks, severe  pp  
hemmorrhage, then experienced every other complication in the book.
The nurses did help her pump once or twice a shift but she did not get  
more than drops until about 6 weeks. One day is she was producing  
drops and the next she was slightly engorged and pumping ounces.
I  never figured out exactly how the physiology worked with that case,  
except that once she was "out of the woods," and her body was  
approaching normal HGB & HCT levels, she began producing milk.
You said that the nurses are worried about a caloric drain on this  
very ill mom but I don't think she will make much milk until she is  
better.
Marie Davis RN IBCLC

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