Hi Chayn,
This is a tough situation. And the baby is only 5 weeks and getting so many
foods! First, NO, almond milk is not the best milk for this baby. However,
from what you've said so far, I don't think the parents will be very
receptive to convincing them that almond milk is not the best milk. What I
would try to do is to focus, instead, on the things she *is* doing that are
healthful for the baby. So I would try to bring her attention to continuing
donor milk, and to any and all galactagogues for herself. Obviously she has
some strong feelings about natural foods. So share info with her on herbals,
teas, fennel seeds, oats, oatmeal, etc. See if you can do an archive search
and come in excitedly with all the stuff she can eat or brew. Try to get her
excited about this.
What I would do would be to try to explain that almond milk and rice milk
are not really milks. That milk is something a mammal makes for its young.
You could share that possibly gorilla milk would be the best thing but that
it would be very difficult to get milk from a gorilla! Possibly explain that
you could take white paper and add water to it or do the same with baking
soda, and make a "milk" out of it, but it wouldn't really be a "milk" and
would be very deficient in nutrients for her baby. If she seems receptive to
some research, you could share how certain foods show high rates of allergy,
such as tree nuts, etc. If she is at all scientific, you could share about
gut closure.
So, the bottom line is I would not try to argue over whether almond milk is
better than rice milk is better than hemp milk, I would try to make the case
that these are not really milks at all. I would try to make a strong case
for human milk, preferably hers, and see if there is any way to increase it.
This is what I would try to get her to focus her energy on. Donor milk, if
still available, would be next, you *might* even talk about home
pasteurization of same. I would then try to make a case for a mammalian milk
if a substitute is needed. I don't think I would try to sway her to one
species or the other, other than raw is not a good idea, in my opinion.
Good luck with this situation.
Laurie Wheeler RN MN IBCLC
Mississippi USA

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