> My question is when is a mother too sick to have her breasts pumped, > even if it's only by the nurses? Our hospital frequently makes the > decision that "there is so much going on and this mom is so sick, etc. > that breastfeeding just isn't a priority right now." Their argument is > that even the mere act of pumping will cause the mother additional > stress that she doesn't need at this particular time. What about the argument that *not* pumping a mother who wishes to breastfeed will cause additional stress? I do know of one case where a mother I was working with had brain tumor surgery when her baby was 4-5 months old. She made arrangements for her breasts to be pumped by the ICU nurses and her husband while she was recovering. Not having her breasts pumped would have been detrimental to her recovery as she was very upset over the possibility of not providing breastmilk for her baby. And what is it with all the brain tumors? Not counting Kathy W., I personally know 3 people (all LLL Leaders) who have had brain tumors removed in the last 2-3 years. If we follow some of the logic we have been seeing lately, I guess we can then extrapolate that breastfeeding causes brain tumors...(tongue firmly in cheek) Kathy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kathy Koch, BSEd, IBCLC Great Mills, MD mailto:[log in to unmask] http://www.bftopics.org *********************************************** 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