interesting case

[Guest guest]

I thought I would share this case with you all. I just saw a mom

yesterday on a pro bono basis. She is 19 years old, it is her second

baby (first one was given up for adoption when she was younger), and

she is living in a home for abused women. Her baby was 10 days old

when I saw her, and had been totally formula-fed. She tried to

breastfeed in the hospital, but reported that the baby couldn't latch

on and got too frustrated. Clearly, I was worried about milk

production, but when I saw her on Day 10, we pumped a whole ounce

from both breasts combined, and she still had more in there. I gave

her a PIS that someone had donated to me (unopened, unused). The

baby couldn't latch on because her breasts were too full and hard,

and after we pumped, the baby was too sleepy and uninterested. (She

had fed him a bottle before I got there.)

Anyway, I was really impressed by how much milk we got and how full

her breasts still seemed on Day 10, with no stimulation. This is

such a huge contrast to what I have been seeing lately with older

moms. I am wondering about correlations others have noticed between

age and first lactation, and its effect on milk production?

Lynnette Hafken, IBCLC