9 day old baby and milk is not flowing - lost 15% of birth weight - any ideas?

[dm1]

Hi - my friend has got a beautiful dd - her first,(2 days early ). She's trying to breast feed but didn't feel her milk come in, her breasts never feel full, can't hear baby swallowing and can only express max 10 mls at a time. She was bought into hospital for a night and was observed. The latch was good and she's feeding on demand. she's doing a babymoon at mo - in room with no visitors with lots of skin to skin. Don't know what else to suggest - has anyone else experienced or could give support or advice. Baby is now being supplemented to make sure she gains weight.
Thanks loads. x

How many wet & dirty nappies is the baby doing? That will be a good indicator of how things are doing. Has she any pain with the latching?

I would say though, that she should contact a BFC via the helplines. She really sounds like she could do with some expert help.

Hm - don't know about nappies. sh's left a message with a bfc so hopefully they'll come through. `You can never have too much support at this stage.

I had this with ds...they went on and on about the problem being my milk supply. In fact ds had terrible reflux, which made eating painful so he just wouldn'tdo it.

I did do al the relactation things and did manage to get my milk supply up, but carried on having problems until ds was put on medication.

Then, within a week, with no expressing or anything, ds was eating large amounts of milk (which my breasts had no trouble providing) and putting on weight at a rate of knots. Took 4 months to identify the problem though!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that her breasts will produce the milk the baby demands, and if they aren't producing any then the baby may just not be demanding enough.

Ds would spend all day on the breast btw, just not drinking.

This is just my experience, I'm sure someone who knows what they're on about will be along shortly

to check the wee put some cotton wool in the nappy and when you change it if its wet she is weeing the new disposables are so good its difficult to tell if the baby has had a wee.

10 ml is fine.it is poss her milk has not come in yet and baby is still getting colustrom.

i was the same a few weeks ago and now my baby has gained all his weight back and feeds like a mad thing.

good luck

I would have thought that if she is supplementing with formula it's actually going to make problems so she really does need to see a bf counsellor have they check for retained placenta. How big was she at birth as large babies often take much longer to regain birth weight?

Defo agree about the support issue...although sometimes you can have too much & dealing with one expert & going back to her for help again & again is really useful sometimes...saves you having to explain what is happening all over again & the bfc will get to know you a little better.

TBH though if it were me & would just keep ringing the numbers until someone actually answers the phone. In this kind of situation she could probably do with help right now.

How often is the baby feeding atm?

Hey all,
Have just seen the baby and she seems well and is gorgeous. The bfc did call and was really helpful. Thanks for all the advice.Think the baby is feeding quite regularly so will just have to wait and see what happens at the next weighing.

Good to hear dm1 hope things continue to improve.

I never felt my milk come in and my breasts never felt full when DS was newborn (because he was feeding All The Bloody Time... I guess there were perks to that after all). And I could never express more than a couple of spoonfuls either. None of those necessarily mean that anything's wrong.

Glad she's getting the support and babymoon she needs and that things seem to be looking up.

Definately think supplementing is going to lead to problems. Is her dds sugar levels ok? is she showing signs of being "clinically unwell?"

wet and dirty nappies at this point is a big thing.. check out here;
www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/enough-milk.html

Does she really have a problem with her milk supply?;
www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html#supply

If so she should be plugging on to a hospital grade pump after EVERY feed for extra stimulation. She may also consider taking a Herbal Supplement for increasing her milk supply OR eating porridge oats to help increase supply too. Check Here

Definately contact one of the following help lines or all 4 for extra support as this is what she NEEDS MOST to help her through this stage;

The Breastfeeding Network (BFN) - Supporter Line 0870 900 8787 - The service operates from 9.30am to 9.30pm every day of the year.

La Leche League Great Britain - 0845 120 2918

National Childbirth Trust - 0870 444 8708 - 9am to 6pm, seven days a week.

Association of Breastfeeding Mothers' - 0870 401 7711 - Open every day from 9.30am to 10.30pm