Can I take drugs to restart my supply once it stops?

[ThirtyLove]

I don't want to quit breastfeeding but I feel my hand is being 'forced' at the moment. My DD (5wks) is in hospital, she has developed chylothorax whilst here and been put on special formula for 6 weeks. I've been expressing since she was 3 days old but logistically it's been really difficult as I live off-campus. The hospital have not been particularly supportive of me and a number of nurses have advised me to give up.

I managed to borrow a pump but they now want it back and I don't have another here with me (it's at home). I've been chucking my milk down the sink since I filled the freezer, I enquired about donation to the neo-natal unit and despite a number of calls to them I've not received a call back to set it all up so clearly they don't want it. The hospital nurses are very 'judgy' about me leaving my DD to go express, and this aspect of it is what compels me to want to quit. I'm a very anxious person and I am getting really stressed about slinking out of the unit to go pump, which I don't feel I need on top of everything else.

So the top and bottom of it is that I'm going through a load of stress to pump and then chucking it down the sink! I wanted to keep my supply up so that when my daughter is well and off the special formula we could do it, but that is weeks away yet.

When my DD was first admitted and my MW was in touch with me she said I could take drugs to restart my supply. Is this true and how do I go about getting them? I think this would be a better option than my current situation which is a total nightmare tbh. Thanks for any replies :)

I don't know about drugs, but am sorry you are in such a grotty situation. Am amazed staff are being so unsupportive when you are trying so hard in such difficult circumstances. Call the la leche league helpline tomorrow if you can, I think they might be able to help, and you should get some good advice here too. I hope your dd is better soon.

Your local NCT may have pumps to hire too.

Oh no! I don't know about pills either, but you definitely need to speak the the Patient Advisory Service urgently! There is no reason you should be treated with such a negative attitude from staff - this is what needs fixing, not your milk supply.

A year or so ago I would have done exactly as you are proposing in your OP, based on my fear that others would think badly of me. You need to put your DD first now, not some unprofessional fussy-body who you will never see again once DD is better.

Best of luck!

oh no, please try and find some supportive bfing help, the milk will last in the freezer for 6 months, is it in the hospital can someone take it home then baby can have it whenever.

Oh you poor thing

Your hospital should have an infant feeding coordinator who is responsible for all their policies. I found the one at our hospital extremely helpful and as they're medical staff they have some influence. Could you contact them? Also PALS as suggested. The way you're being treated is not acceptable.

I'm no expert but I believe people sometimes take domperidone to relactate or increase supply but you also need to feed/express very regularly. I understand it's possible but very hard work. Also not all doctors will prescribe domperidone for lactation, I think because it's generally used for something else. Here's some info: kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/relactation/

As you obviously know it'd be better to keep your supply up: kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/basics/maintainsupply-pump/

Finally it may be that your hospital doesn't have a milk bank hence not returning your calls. You can check where the nearest is at www.ukamb.org. Or if you're near me there's room in my freezer (South East London).

Hope your DD gets better soon and the hospital stops being so unsupportive.

If you need a pump, I have a medela swing you can have, just pm me. Not sure about the special formula unless its a high calorie one, but even then, they can use breast milk fortifiers to increase calories in bm. I would have thought the immunity benefits of bm would be beneficial at this point.
Personally I would keep expressing and stick it in the freezer, its good for 6 months at -18 and as long as you pump 8x in 24 hours, it doesn't necessarily have to be at 3 hour intervals so you could space it around your visits.

Sorry, just read that you have filled the freezer already!

You can be prescribed domperidone to help with re-lactation in certain circumstances. It isn't actually licensed for this purpose (it's generally used for stomach upsets but has a side effect of lactation in some people) but there seem to be ways of getting round it.

It isn't a miracle drug though - it'll only usually help if accompanied by a regime of very frequent pumping and putting baby to the breast. So it's quite a commitment and could be difficult if you have other DCs or not much help at home.

My understanding is that it tends to be more effective for re-lactation than for getting supply going in the first place, so you could be a good candidate for it if you're prepared and able to commit to everything else that goes with it.

I was offered it 3 weeks after the birth of DD when my milk still hadn't come in (largely due to trauma, blood loss and additional surgery when she was delivered). I decided not to take it up as I didn't feel able to commit to what would have been a non-stop regime of pumping etc when I was still very frail, physically and mentally, and there was no guarantee it would work. However, if you've already been producing mile then I imagine you'd stand a good chance of it helping. The infant feeding co-ordinator at the hospital was the person who said she'd prescribe it, so I'd make them your first port of call.

I'm sorry you're having such a rubbish experience and lack of support - hope your DD gets better soon and you find the support you need.

*milk not mile! Sorry

This can't possibly be in the UK, is it?

I understand the issue about no breastmilk.

www.lalecheleague.org/llleaderweb/lv/lvaprmay03p27.html is one mother's story which might help with discussing options with the doctors.

I don't understand the lack of support from the hospital staff.

You may be able to keep up a minimal supply with expressing less, and then restart it with more expressing later and of course direct breastfeeding.

Drugs can be used to support this, too, but you cannot rely on them.

I hope things go well. Having a poorly baby is so stressful :(

Donperidone can help increase supply but won't restart. I think you need to keep pumping, and complain to the hospital.

Hi all, thanks for the responses. I didn't pump for 24 hours (in fairness I was down to twice in every 24 hours anyway so it wasn't a huge break) but when I read your messages this morning I decided to restart and see what happened.

I am not sure how easy it is going to be to pump regularly once we go home and I have my other DD to deal with so I may be fighting a losing battle but at least I will have the option.

The formula she is on is high calorie but no fat (she's not allowed fat hence the no-bm rule). It begins with M (mogadon or something!). I think we will get sent home with the formula and need to give her that exclusively for a while before she can return to bm and it's this period when I think I won't be able to express regularly.

I have been giving her a dummy to try to get her to suck, and asking nurses if I can bottle feed her some of the formula rather than it all going in her ng tube, so she can at least get used to feeding 'properly'. I have no idea if I'm doing the right thing or not.

She has moved to a new unit now and the nurse there today is much more supportive and gave me some equipment to pump with and showed me where everything was so I feel a bit more encouraged.

I'm going to try to get to a bf group I saw on a notice, tomorrow.

My breast milk is still going down the sink

Yes it's in the UK. I'm actually shocked by how poor the facilities etc are for bf'ing mums with children who aren't necessarily textbook newborns, when I consider how much bf'ing was pushed by my community midwives pre-birth.

Are you in London op? Kings college hospital are always desperate for donor milk. They will collect out as far as Surrey.

Hope you're LO makes a speedy recovery

Just to update this thread, my DD is still in hospital but now in my local one, off the critical list and concentrating on feeding and thriving. She is still on monogen for another week but I was told yesterday that I could let her have the breast and it wouldn't harm her as long as her main sustenance is still monogen.

Of course she isn't interested! (Maybe because there isn't much there and she's now used to the bottle...)

I have started a course of Domperidone which seems to be working so far but it's early days, and I'm trying to express as much as I can.

I'm not sure what has happened to my life

Thanks all for your help and support, I really appreciate it