Help, I can't Pump
by Barbara Dehn - 30th May 2008
I saw a mom the other day, who delivered her second healthy baby 8 weeks ago. She was in the office to follow up on some postpartum issues and naturally the subject of how the baby was feeding came up. She is going back to work in one month and has been trying to build up a supply of milk for the freezer. There’s only one problem. She can’t pump enough milk. She has a great let down when breastfeeding and has tried all sorts of great tips from every lactation consultant in town to get her milk to let down and get more than an ounce from both breasts when she pumps.
Yes, she’s tried different pumps, nasal sprays, warm compresses under her arms, starting the baby at the breast and moving to the pump. She’s tried everything, and yet it’s still not working out the way she planned. She’s in the type of position where she can’t bring the baby with her to work and can’t run home for feedings, so what’s a mom to do? We talked about staying on schedule with feedings before and immediately after work, doing her best to pump as much as was reasonable, given her schedule with another child and going back to work. We also talked about starting formula and knowing that she was doing the best she could do, given circumstances that are out of her control. She is not happy that things didn’t work out, but as she said, she’s realistic. There’s only so much that she can do and when there are safe and healthy options for her child, then it’s going to be ok.
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