Kris,
Don't you think this is yet another case of bf being sacrificed on the altar
of ignorance?  and maybe in this case on the altar of condescension, in the
sense of "WE deal with Life and Death issues here in Intensive Care.
Breastfeeding is beneath our notice."  And when the LC tries to speak up
about the woman's wishes, the family's wishes, or even the potential for harm
of neglecting to care for lactating breasts, she's branded as a fanatic.  Yet
preserving lung function, bladder and bowel function, mobility, and all the
other things that make life worth living, are high priority with a comatose
or seriously ill patient.  Why shouldn't nurses also preserve breast function?

A lactating woman can be turned to her side for pumping.  Her breasts can be
massaged and expressed manually while she is lying supine.  Catching and
saving the milk might not be possible, but you can at least get it out of
there!  The oxytocin released during milk expression should LOWER her blood
pressure, so that's good for a woman with hypertension.  You would want to
prevent engorgement and milk stasis both to preserve breast function AND to
prevent mastitis and abscess.

I remember a mom who was making a rocky recovery from gall bladder surgery.
She had rented a good breast pump to keep at her bedside, but she was in so
much pain that holding the cups to her breasts was difficult for her.  I
helped her through one pumping session when her husband (who was also doing a
lot of the care for their young kids and the baby) couldn't be there.  The
med-surg nurses refused to help her because they wanted her to do more things
independently as an aid to recovery.  I agree that it is important for
post-op patients to be active, but I disagreed with them on this judgment
call.  She was already doing a lot for herself, but it meant a lot to her to
have me assist with pumping---setting up support for her arms, keeping her
company and giving moral support, etc.  Personally, I think the nurses had
just decided they didn't want to spend the time with her---and of course
that's also a reality-based prioritization on a busy med-surg floor.  But
they thought I was nuts for the decision that I made to help her.

Gee, it comes down again to EDUCATION.  If we can get nurses and docs to see
the value of breastfeeding, its essential nature, and the fact that women
have a right to breastfeed, then maybe we can work on devising policies for
supporting lactation in critically ill women.

Chris Mulford

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html