Hi, I hesitated to ask you about this because I was nervous of breaching confidentiality (yes, I know I am not a trained LC, but I still think I have to be careful). The lady concerned in this sorry tale in considering getting a breastfeeding counsellor on to the problem, but is still nervously "thinking" about it. I feel she will take the plunge soon, but she needs a lot of support to "make that call". Her baby is currently about 5 mo. When the baby was born by emergency section, the mother wanted to breastfeed but received no support (and I mean *no* support - she didn't even know cradle hold wasn't the only hold to bf a baby in). After 2 days, the baby was hungry and dehydrated and the mother feeling extremely ill due to infections and a painful wound. In desparation, she allowed the nurses to take her baby into the nursery and bottle feed her. By the time she went home, the baby's latch was appalling, her nipples were ragged and sore and the baby was losing weight. Like many mothers in this situation, she was advised that breastfeeding was obviously too difficult for her and she should bottlefeed. This she did, with a heavy heart, but believed her baby would do fine on the bottle. Sadly, this is far from the case. The baby gradually developed eczema, had permenant diarrhoea and vomited up most feeds. She was taking up to 50 fl oz a day, but in 16 weeks she gained 4 oz on her birthweight. At 8 weeks, the doctors advised starting the baby on solids, in an attempt to get her to gain weight. It failed miserably, and the baby's eczema got worse. After many tests, it was decided the baby was allergic to all dairy and she was put onto soya. That was a few weeks ago. Since then, the baby has lost 1/2 lb and her eczema is now so bad it's bleeding. It has now been confirmed that the baby is even more severely allergic to soya. They tried hypoallergenic formula. The baby nearly had to be hospitalised due to the vomiting that induced. Their latest theory is that the baby has pyloric stenosis on top of severe food allergies. The mother is desperate and frantic with worry. She has lost all confidence in her doctors and I think she is seriously concerned her baby might die. I find it hard to believe she is exaggerating this fear, and my empty reassurances about "I am sure the doctors are doing their best" etc. are pointless - she doesn't honestly believe that anymore :-( To add insult to injury, they have refused her permission to get human milk from the human milk bank at a nearby hospital - they say the milk is too precious and her situation isn't "serious enough". I'd like to know what they do consider "serious enough"! (vent) So now, the mother believes that relactation is probably her baby's last hope. I know very little about it, but have shown her all I know from my books. Conversations with various breastfeeding counsellor friends has given me various opinions from it is relatively easy, provided she is looking at pumping and bottle-feeding EBM at the start; to the belief that it is really difficult and may not be possible. She thinks pumping and bottle-feeding EBM sounds feasible and it quite enthusiastic about that idea, but I am afraid to be too encouraging due to fears of giving her false hope. At present, her worries are:- How long will it take to get her milk back and how difficult is this likely to be? Is it possible to give her baby enough EBM to keep her going? Is it going to be a problem that the baby is allergic to allergens in her milk (her Ped says this is a far smaller problem than at present, and not to worry about it)? What are the chances of teaching the baby to directly nurse? And if that is not possible, how can she keep her supply up and sustained? If anyone knows *anything* about this, she would value your input. I am sure the two BCs I have recommended, although experienced, would also be interested in any ideas people have. I would really like to be able to email someone who's actually done this, or has a client who has relactated in such circumstances. Perhaps there is a book somewhere about this or maybe a Web page. As you probably understand, this is a desperate situation. I do hope it is appropriate to post it here - I have the lady's permission. Btw, she is not on the Net herself. -- Anna (mummy to Emma, born 17th Jan 1995 and Alice, born 11th Sept 1996) Email: [log in to unmask] Web Page: http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna