sheehan's syndrome

[Guest guest]

hi lisa, this is the perfect forum to discuss this!

i am working with a mom right now who had 3 transfusions and might need

another. she has been struggling with milk supply, but is making at least

50% of baby's needs, perhaps more, and my understanding is that moms with

sheehans make little to no milk. has your mom had blood workups? this mom

has had several to test for all hormonal functions. how old is her

baby? and how has her case been managed up until you saw her? With my

mom, ,she went back to work and has been pumping, so breast stimulation has

not been ideal - not a lot of nursing and no at breast

supplementation. She has seen a huge benefit from reglan (but had to stop

due to side effects, and cannot take domperidone, due to a heart condition)

and also from herbal galactagogues. i would suggest a complete blood work

up, and then treatment for any abnormalities - for example, thyroid, iron,

etc. then, just like with any other low milk supply mom, lots of milk

removal, at breast supplementing if she is willing, and domperidone if she

can, herbal galactagogues if she can't or won't. any other red flags,

like for PCOS? what percentage of baby's needs is she meeting right now?

warmly, Lyla

At 07:01 AM 3/6/2006 +0000, you wrote:

>Hi All,

>

>Have any of you had much experience in working with moms w/ Sheehan's

>syndrome? I'm pretty sure this is what a mom who I'm working with

>has. She had a blood transfusion after hemorrhaging postpartum and

>neither the ob or her ped discussed Sheehan's with her. Baby born mid-

>Feb and her milk supply is very low. Baby is 15 oz. below BW. Luckily

>baby was born close to 10#.

>

>Please let me know what ob's have prescribed for your moms. I've sent

>reports to both docs and will f/u with phone calls tomorrow, as I just

>discovered her more in-depth birth hx after she I started digging for

>more answers just this weekend. I first saw her 5 days ago.

>

>Let me know if this is an okay forum to discuss this.

>

>Thanks,

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

It could certainly be discussed as a possibility, and it would be great to have a breastfeeding-knowledgeable doctor willing to do thorough work-up on her. Even if the loss wasn't enough to damage the pituitary, anemia is certainly a possibility. Does she have any other symptoms of Sheehan's? But make sure the mother doesn't see the current milk supply as the end of the story. In some cases post-partum blood loss seems to be such a shock to the system that the coming in of milk is very slow -- but by keeping the stimulation up and "placing the order" while healing and strengthening the mother, a reasonable supply may be achieved. It was almost as if the body feels it has to recover and survive first before diverting energy to milk-making. If this mother is only about two weeks out, there's certainly hope for improving the supply. In the Lactnet archives, I remember Barbara Clay and some other discussing situations

where the milk supply didn't "come in" but rather slowly built over weeks as the mother recovered. Margaret Sabo Wills, land __________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Thank you all, for responding to my q's.

I have a call into her ob and have sent an updated report to her re: her birth hx and supply. Baby is 3 weeks old and is being supplemented 2-3 oz. after each feed, which seems like a lot, but he's not up to BW and is a big baby to start (BW 9 lb 10 oz). I'm going to ask the ob about a blood work up.

Thank you for the websites too.

Re: Sheehan's syndrome

hi lisa, this is the perfect forum to discuss this!i am working with a mom right now who had 3 transfusions and might need another. she has been struggling with milk supply, but is making at least 50% of baby's needs, perhaps more, and my understanding is that moms with sheehans make little to no milk. has your mom had blood workups? this mom has had several to test for all hormonal functions. how old is her baby? and how has her case been managed up until you saw her? With my mom, ,she went back to work and has been pumping, so breast stimulation has not been ideal - not a lot of nursing and no at breast supplementation. She has seen a huge benefit from reglan (but had to stop due to side effects, and cannot take domperidone, due to a heart condition) and also from herbal galactagogues. i would suggest a complete blood work up, and then treatment for any abnormalities - for example, thyroid, iron, etc. then, just like with any other low milk supply mom, lots of milk removal, at breast supplementing if she is willing, and domperidone if she can, herbal galactagogues if she can't or won't. any other red flags, like for PCOS? what percentage of baby's needs is she meeting right now?warmly, Lyla At 07:01 AM 3/6/2006 +0000, you wrote:>Hi All,>>Have any of you had much experience in working with moms w/ Sheehan's>syndrome? I'm pretty sure this is what a mom who I'm working with>has. She had a blood transfusion after hemorrhaging postpartum and>neither the ob or her ped discussed Sheehan's with her. Baby born mid->Feb and her milk supply is very low. Baby is 15 oz. below BW. Luckily>baby was born close to 10#.>>Please let me know what ob's have prescribed for your moms. I've sent>reports to both docs and will f/u with phone calls tomorrow, as I just>discovered her more in-depth birth hx after she I started digging for>more answers just this weekend. I first saw her 5 days ago.>>Let me know if this is an okay forum to discuss this.>>Thanks,>>>>>>>>>