Todd Moody wrote:
>
> What is that condition?  My wife was unable to breastfeed our
> son.  Her milk supply was grossly inadequate (no more than a
> couple of ounces a day), and did not improve with time.  In
> fact, it ceased altogether after a few weeks.  We had to choose
> between formula or starvation (but perhaps we could have bought
> human breast milk).  The doctors said the situation wasn't that
> uncommon, but maybe this was just a sop.

Hi Todd,

I'm so sorry to hear about the troubles your family had with breastfeeding.
It must be discouraging, especially since I'm sure you wanted the very best
for your son. There are varied reasons for poor milk supply -- ranging from
hormonal problems in the mother, breast structure problems, "scheduling"
feeds, nipple confusion, and latch problems -- anything from just a bad
latch to "tongue tie" in the infant.

I think it is actually fairly common for women to be TOLD they have
inadequate supply, but given the lack of education regarding breastfeeding,
the medical professionals who are making this determination may be
unintentionally giving incorrect information. One of the difficulties with
this is that the formula companies have spent millions on advertising and
have successfully turned the American culture into believing "breast is best
but formula is just as good." This unfortunate belief makes it easier to
just recommend formula to a mother, rather than spending time and energy in
diagnosing and fixing breastfeeding problems.

I do wonder on what basis the determination was made that your wife's supply
was inadequate. Your reference to "ounces" makes me think she might have
been expressing milk. Often the amount of milk expressed is much less than
would be transferred to a nursing baby, so it's not a good measure of
supply. Traditionally, the way to tell if a baby is getting enough milk is
to keep track of the output -- 4-5 wet diapers a day is a good sign. Also,
as long as the baby is gaining weight adequately, things are usually on the
right track. After all -- there's no gauge on the side of the breast saying
how many ounces have been consumed.   :-)

This is probably getting OT so feel free to email me offlist if you'd like
to talk more about this.

If you are planning to have another child, I have a lot of resources and
references I could give you for maintaining a good milk supply.

-Rosemary