supply in one breast has dropped

[mnm32]

Help! I don't know why this is happening. First off , my baby was born 25 Nov 08 with a heart defect, and we have some problems with the throat as well which led me to exclusively pump. He is still at the hospital where I spend mydays and then I go home at night ( I thankfully live 10 mins from the hospital)

At first I was getting 4-5 oz from a pumping session, 2-3 oz from left breast and 1-2 from the other, so now it is 1-2.5 from the left and just a splatter -1 oz from the right,
(I use medela pump in style and hospital pump sometimes at the hospital)

anyone have any suggestions? I am drinking fenulgreek tea, mothers milk and every brand of milk producing tea!

thanks!!

[Mommal]

Hi! Congratulations on the birth of your child. I'm sorry he's in the NICU. It's fantastic that you are pumping for him- nothing is better for him than mama's milk.

How often are you pumping? When I was having problems with milk supply I pumped every 2 hours during the day and every 3 at night. If I had time, I slipped additional pumping sessions into the mix. Power pumping may be very helpful to you: pump both breasts for 10 minutes, then rest for 10, then pump for 10, then rest for 10, and finally pump once more for 10 minutes for a total of 30 minutes of pumping in a 1 hour period. Power pumping is supposed to mimic the way a baby feeds and boosts its mom's supply during a growth spurt.

How long are you pumping? 10 minutes on each breast is probably the minimum amount you should be pumping. Make sure that you pump for several minutes past the last letdown. Even when the milk is no longer coming out, the pumping lets your body know that more milk needs to be made.

How does pumping feel? Are your nipples sore at all? Do they seem to rub against the sides of the collection tube as you pump? Or are they shooting in and out with an accompanied reduction in suction? If either of these things is a problem, please see the hospital lactation consultant because the breast shields are not properly fitted.

You might want to consider renting a hospital-grade pump. A PIS is a good pump, but some moms require the best pump in order to get good results.

If nothing is working, you may wish to talk to your midwife or OB about prescription drugs which can increase your milk supply. Reglan (available in the US) and Domperidone (available in Canada and the EU) are anti-nausea drugs that, as a side-effect, increase serum prolactin levels and can increase milk supply. Use of either drug as a galactogogue (milk-increaser) is off-label use. Do not take either drug without guidance from a healthcare professional, particularly Reglan, which carries as a side-effect an increased risk for depression.

Best of luck!

[poiyt]

I am not a pumper...but I do have one breast that doesnt produce like the other. My naturopath told me that in the human body the ducts/glands that produce milk arent always even in both breasts, and can cause one to produce more milk than the other. So, one breast became my "day" breast, and the other became my "night" breast. It works well - but it was good for me to know that they could be different - at first I thought I was just crazy...