Hi Smart People!

I got a call tonight from the mom whose baby had lost 11% of its birth
weight in its first five days, the one I sent to the ER and got such a lousy
reception.  Baby's doing great, happy, gaining weight thanks to lots of
supplementing, and mom is up to pumping 3 oz/24h (this is a 300% increase, I
tell her -- that's great!).  BTW mom refuses to take any meds, but I give
her kudos for continuing to pump so faithfully for her precious 3oz.

Anyway, she said that, for the middle of the night feed, she gives the baby
a bottle and then pumps, leaving her EBM at room temperature to give him in
the morning.  Lately she noticed the baby was throwing up that morning
feeding, so she started refrigerating it right after pumping, thinking maybe
the milk storage guideline wasn't accurate.  He's not throwing it up anymore
as before, but she noticed it had a distinct "milk gone bad" smell almost
immediately after pumping.  She tasted it and it tasted like "milk gone
bad," and even had her husband taste it to be sure she wasn't mistaken (his
reaction was, "EWWW," definitely not "Mmmmm."

Mom said she meticulously washes, rinses, and air-dries the parts between
each and every pumping, and she's using a rented Medela Symphony pump (sure,
it's not a Purely Yours, but it's clean and well maintained).  She uses the
Avent bottle system, although she may be storing her milk in the softer
plastic bottles that come in the pumping kits -- but it's for less than 6
hours.  Room temperature this time of year is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

If this were a more typical breastfeeding situation, I wouldn't be quite so
curious.  However given her low supply, obvious hirsutism, etc., I wondered
if these other factors might be affecting the amount of lactose (sweetness)
or antibodies in her milk.  Mom also takes a number of supplements.  Could
the components in her milk be causing this?  Anyone have any clues?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.  Nothing in my archive
search was applicable.

Debbie Gillespie, IBCLC, LLLL
Sunny Tempe, AZ

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