My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Infant feeding

Breastfeeding after b. reduction plus multiple problems -advice

2 replies

bigbadwritersblock · 01/05/2014 04:11

Dd is 2 weeks today, yesterday fed on me for 8 hrs (during the day -not including nightfeeds) she's had her tt cut (day 2) has got a very high pallet and a lip tie. She's not put on any weight since her initial drop of 7%.

I can't feed like that much more - DS is in nursery 3 mornings a week and other then that I'm on my own with him and DD from waking to bedtime. Need to give DS some time, care and love too.

Midwife (private) not keen to say that breast reduction is affecting supply but I can't see how it isn't.

Really want BF to work - didn't with DS and it broke my heart.

Any advice would be great.
Thanks

OP posts:
Report
Tambajam · 01/05/2014 10:34

Sorry you're struggling. Bloody bad luck to have a TT and LT and high palate to deal with on top of concerns about the breast reduction.

Your midwife simply can't say that your reduction is not a factor here but equally no one can say for certain that it is.

It's going to depend on your type of surgery - how much nerve damage there might have been is just as important as what was removed. Also how long ago your surgery was.

I think we can safely say that no gain since the 7% loss is a worry but at least you haven't seen further loss.

I can completely see how feeding like this is difficult to manage. Although there could be growth spurts happening now, it could also be there is an issue.

I think it's important to talk about what we mean when we say 'breastfeeding is working'. If a mum post-reduction with a TT baby does some breastfeeding alongside some supplementation - that is 'breastfeeding working' for a vast majority of people. If you don't exclusively breastfeed is that 'breastfeeding not working'? I think that's being very tough on yourself.

Making More Milk by Diana West is a brilliant book in your situation. Really informs you about all your options to maximise supply. Her website is good too and //www.bfar.org (breastfeeding after reduction).

I might suggest talking to your doctor about a prescription of Domperidone and looking at herbal galactagogues. Consider hiring a hospital grade pump to blitz your supply by pumping after feeds when you can (pumping on an emptier breast stimulates supply) and maybe using any pumped milk as a top-up.

Getting someone knowledgeable about breastfeeding to check latch.

And being kind to yourself. If you don't exclusively feed with your history, that is not a 'failure'.

Report
ChocolateHelps · 02/05/2014 23:09

Totally agree with everything pp has said. Also some mums who need to supplement use an 'at the breast' supplementation system or SNS for short. You are then still breast feeding and making sure baby gets enough milk

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.