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Anonymous
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I am a child care provider. One of my client is currently pumping breast milk for her daughter during the day. The mother is conserned about her supply and has asked me to reduce the amout her daughter is drinking during the day to ensure she is hungry and will nurse at night. The baby is with me 10-12 hours a day and eats about 12-15 oz per day in care. I am concerned about reducing intake for a number of reasons. The infant is on the small side (14 lbs @ 6 months) and she is really active. Does anyone think that reducing her consumption during the day will assist in increasing Breast Milk supply or do you think it will just result in a unhappy baby?
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,785 Idaho
extra helpful experienced member
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extra helpful experienced member
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,785 Idaho |
Hmm Jennie that is a tough one. Maybe the better solution to withholding food is allowing time between the last feeding with you and when her Mom comes to pick her up. That way the baby will still be hungry and nurse as soon as Mom picks her up. More important to Mom's supply is that she is pumping during the day while her daughter is at daycare. So say if the baby eats every 3 hours and Mom picks her up at 6:00 make the last bottle you give her be at 3:00 Does that make sense? I feel that if the baby is hungry she should be fed. You say she is with you 10-12 hours a day and eats 12 -15 oz.How often do you feed her and how much at a time? That doesn't seem like a lot of milk. But again the important thing for the Mom to keep up her supply is to pump during the time her daughter is in care. Like every three or four hours. I hope this is helpful.
Laurie~Craig's wife~Mom to 4 blessings nurtured at the breast CJ(24)Travis(21)Beka~adopted(9)Rab(6)
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,347 Canada
extra helpful experienced member
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extra helpful experienced member
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1,347 Canada |
Hi Jennie, I whole heartedly agree with Cathy... Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to withhold food from this baby. The mother has been woefully misinformed. Starving her child will not increase her milk supply. The baby can take only so much at one feeding anyhow. Witholding food will cause her to lose weight and cause great unhappiness to the poor child. She will cry constantly which is also harmful. The MOST IMPORTANT thing this mother can do for her milk supply is to drain her breasts as often as she can while she's away from her child. Even if this means pumping in a bathroom at work. The Medela Pump in Style now comes with a battery pack. If this is not convenient perhaps she can use the Mini Electric or even a manual pump like the Avent ISIS. ANYTHING is better than starving a baby. If this mother is concerned about her milk supply, please tell her you know of a board certified lactation consultant who specializes in helping women with low milk supply. Have her email me directly at lenore@asklenore.info and I'll be happy to giver her a few strategies to help her in this situation. Warmest regards,
Lenore Goldfarb, Ph.D.,CCC,IBCLC
Wife to Rob, Mom to Adam aged 13, and Ethan aged 9, both born via GS and breastfed via Regular Newman-Goldfarb Protocol.
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