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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Poor quality breast milk? Is this possible?

78 replies

Jasnem · 06/07/2006 11:13

I am often told that I'm lucky that I must produce good quality milk as my ds is large, content, and exclusively breast fed.
Is this true? Do some women not produce good enough milk?

I think it is down to deceication and motivation on my part...am I wrong? Am I just lucky?

OP posts:
moondog · 06/07/2006 19:02

Matnan,everything that your 'mum' does sits badly with me,notably the weird feeding schedule.

Physiologically speaking,if there has been milk there for a good while,it can't suddenly disappear in the evening.
In my experience,babies often thrash at this time.It's called being worn out after a long day.

The way I dealt with it was to go somwhere quiet to feed,or just lie down with her by my side until she calmed and came to breast of own accord.

There may have been other reasons (thrush?) but that is outside my realm of knowledge.

Moving onto formula certainly wasn't the only way to deal with it,and offering this as a solution is letting 'mum' down.

nothercules · 06/07/2006 19:12

it is not true to say there is milk.Ifyou are advising about bf you need proper training.

SenoraPostrophe · 06/07/2006 19:15

did you leave out a "no" in that post notherculese?

nothercules · 06/07/2006 19:15

oops

matnanplus · 06/07/2006 19:20

Hello, i'm not, i help the mother follow the course she chooses, if a prolem occurs i give all help i can, in this case, the number for another bf mum i worked with who has had and bf 3 children and numbers for helplines, but i can't insist, when the pead and hv tell her advice, theirs carries more weight and i support her in her choices, that is why i'm here.

I feel i am being got at, when i asked a question I had hoped to recieve advice that would be of use to her in this situation and have instead been attacked and ridicled.

nothercules · 06/07/2006 19:24

your first two posts state as truth several things that are not true and you are giving this as someone who works with bf mums.

matnanplus · 06/07/2006 19:25

the weird feeding routine as you call it moondog was based on the advice of the pead due to prolonged jaundice and now an e-coli urine infection, earlier advice from the midwife had been to ensure baby fed once every 3 hours, baby is settled between the feeds so i fail [in my obvious ignorance] to see a fault with the present feeds of 4am ish whenever baby wakes, then baby being woken to eat at 8am every 2 hours till 8pm, then woken again if not naturlly awake to feed between 11-1130pm

matnanplus · 06/07/2006 19:26

explain nothercules please

nothercules · 06/07/2006 19:26

actually hv and paeds carries far less weight .....

nothercules · 06/07/2006 19:28

keyboard not working.Start by reaing tiktok

matnanplus · 06/07/2006 19:28

the carry less weight than who...me????

nothercules · 06/07/2006 19:31

eat and drink not important
formula is sure way of causing supply probs in early days

etc etc

matnanplus · 06/07/2006 19:32

i know that a bottle of ebm/formula will not help the issue but it is not my place to INSIST she try, try, try, if she doesn't want to.

nothercules · 06/07/2006 19:33

than someone who knows about bf

nothercules · 06/07/2006 19:35

fine but please dont give bf advice when you dont understand it

nothercules · 06/07/2006 19:36

did you read tiktoks posts

matnanplus · 06/07/2006 19:49

nothercules, i'm but I'M NOT giving advice, i was asking for advice. yes i read tictoks replies and i asked more questions, sorry i'm not thick but i needed more info.

i help the mother follow a path she chooses, it is not my place to insist she does x or y.

I give help and encouragement to the parents.

Last week to pead suggested formula top ups, i explained to the mum that baby was happy, feeding well, gaining weight and in my veiw giving formula to a well fed baby would disrupt the next breast feed, she instead choose to wake the baby and breast feed every 2 hours rather than the 2.5-3 hours she had been doing, in 6 days on this routine baby gained 11oz, as opposed to 6 days, 6oz the previous week.

nothercules · 06/07/2006 19:55

you said she had a real lack of milk and bottles solved it,how do you know that?

you said some didnt have qualityy issue so implying some did

cant keep typing

cori · 06/07/2006 19:55

FGS sakes you lot. Mantanplus is only trying to get information about a situation she doesnt completly understand. Give her a break.

nothercules · 06/07/2006 20:00

iwould suggest that she gets proper training before giving advice.isthat so shocking

JennyLee · 06/07/2006 20:08

my advice would be to feed as constantly as possible to get her breastmilk supply up and dedicate herself to breastfeeding (if possible for a few days) to see if that helps the baby and gets the milk flowing. Don't know if that is any use to you matnanplus.

MrsFogi · 06/07/2006 20:32

It always seems to me the more maternity nurses/nannys, gps, hvs, breast-feeding helpers in hospital, midwives etc that get involved at the beginning of bfing the less likely the mother is to succeed. I can't believe you're holding yourself out as competent in the area matnanplus either on mn or to the poor women employing you. + your posts were advice not requests for advice as far as I can see.

matnanplus · 06/07/2006 21:01

Many thanks Cori and JennyLee, help is what i was asking for.

Mrs Fogi and nothercules, i didn't give any advice, i stated what was and has happened and asked what more could be done.

Again i say, i can't force a mother to feed if she is of the mind to give a bottle, my job is to support her not critise her decisions.

i know that the more a baby breastfeeds the more milk there will be but again i can't force her to follow this advice.

What other courses would people suggest... i have had instruction from a LLL lady, her talks and demonstrations and info was helpful, i have read books and i visit sites like kellymom etc.

moondog · 06/07/2006 22:32

Matnan,Association for Breastfeeding Mother's run a peer support course.I did it and found it very helpful and enjoyable. Didn't cost anything either.
Number is 0870 401 7711

Sorry if I seem a bit harsh.
Breastfeeding woman are under such pressure from ill informed (but well meaning)people that it becomes quite an emotive topic on MN.

I applaud you for wanting to learn more.

kiskidee · 06/07/2006 22:41

Matnan, if a mother you are working with intends to breastfeed successfully, it would be better in your position to suggest that the mum contact one of the breast feeding charities. Speaking one to one with one of these people is more reliable than the majority of health professionals in the NHS.

GPs, HVs, midwives, nurses and Paediatricians - God help us! - are usually not the best people to give breastfeeding advice.

if one of these people suggest to a mum to top up a baby with formula, gently suggest to her to contact a breastfeeding consultant.

I can see where another poster said that the more bf advice a mother gets, the less chance she is to succeed. The problem is that so many of these health professionals have little or no training in breastfeeding. Hence, a struggling mum gets poor advice, ok advice, good advice and downright crap advice but in the postnatal fog, how the hell is she supposed to extract the facts from the crap.