Jan says (in regard to the little bolus that moms usually get the first time
they pump):

 

"The colostrum is there because of the oxytocin related to the birth, and it
seems that if it isn't moved OUT, then it sort of shunts back up in the
breast....Geddes did a study on that, I believe, and then later -- at 6
hours

--  you only get drops."

 

I am so interested in this.  Jan, do you know where I can find the Geddes
study?  I continue to find that a high percentage of mothers can obtain this
bolus even if they cannot pump until after the first hour.  A mom recently
was too ill to pump until right about 24 hours after birth, and she still
was able to obtain almost an ounce of bolus.  We very rarely are able to get
our NICU moms pumping in that first hour, but I've gotten very used to
walking in a room and having a mom exclaim that she got "a lot" with the
first pumping (which could be anywhere from 3-6 hours or longer after birth)
but now is only getting drops. so she gets lots of reassurance and teaching
of hand expression and "hands-on" pumping!

 

The milk production issue alone, as cited in the Parker article, is enough
to justify strong encouragement to pump within the first hour, but I
continue to be fascinated with the idea of the bolus "shunting back up" and
how that could happen.

 

Thanks!

Melinda Lueck, BSN, IBCLC, LCCE

Perrysburg, OH

 

 


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