Re: the mother who birthed a baby with fatal problems:

She will get a milk supply whether or not she expresses it for her baby.

Expressing her milk will
1. help her grieve in a more healthy way, (She WILL grieve. This action may
help her work through the stages better.)
2. give her something positive she can do for her baby, however long its
life may be,
3. help her recover from birth physically by reducing bleeding, better
uterine involution, etc.
4. even a little lactation may help establish her lifetime lactation
capacity for future children and have a beneficial effect on her metabolism
and long-term health. Some studies show a reduction in maternal cancers with
ANY breastfeeding.

Collected milk that isn't used for her baby can be used for research, or
just frozen for future uses. I save home-donated milk from my clients for
use on skin burns and to use in classroom demonstrations of how the cream
rises to the top.

When she eventually decides to stop, help her reduce her supply comfortably
with cold packs and cabbage leaves, and expressing enough milk to reduce
fullness so the retained milk will signal her breasts to make less. Do not
encourage breast binding because this may cause more pain.

See my posts on milk synthesis in the archives, and my handout on "rapid
reduction of milk supply" on my web page
http://www.bflrc.com/bf_mgt/dryupfst.htm

Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre
Dayton, OH USA
http://www.bflrc.com