Some questions about adoptive nursing

[sesa70]

Since this baby will be, sadly for me, our last, I want to explore all of our options so that I don't wish I had later, when it is too late. I have never nursed before, though I did have one of my dd's biologically and did produce milk.

So... I am concidering inducing lactation. I have to admitt it makes me a bit nervous. I have not decided one way or another yet, I am still in the decision making stage.

So I know that this typically involves birth control pills and domperidone. So do women wishing to induce lactation typically work with their physicians? how do you find a physician who has experience with/is willing to work with you on inducing lactation?

Secondly, is there any way to do this without the use of birth control pills? I don't do well with them I get terrible migraines and have an increase in anxiety. Is just domperidone effective? I have heard of just pumping to get supply, but honestly if I can't get a decent supply it is almost not worth the trouble, in my opinion.

Third, is it dangerous for the baby to have the domperidone in their system that is passed through the milk?

Thanks

[BeckC]

I know how you feel, the meds to induce lactation make me nervous too. I don't do well with BCP either and I'm not entirely sure about the dom. From what I understand, dom is listed as safe for breastfeeding. But still, you never know, right?

As for the pumping and taking herbs, I understand that it's possible although your output will be significantly less. I've also heard that this method is more successful if you've ever breastfed/had milk before.

I also don't know how it works with doctors. I mean I know that dom isn't FDA approved so you have to order it from Canada. But when you go to the doctors and they ask you to list your meds, do you? I mean obviously you should as you don't want to deal with the possibility of drug interactions. But wouldn't that put you "on the radar"?

I'm still debating it myself, whether to use the meds. For me it's worth it to try the herbs and pumping and feeding with a Lact-Aid, even if I have to put mostly formula in it. Since I have PCOS I don't know how well that will work without the meds, but I might try it. My goal is to produce 4 oz a day for 6 months, anything above that will be icing on the cake.

[zombie]

Dom is supposed to be safe in the breastmilk. I think it is sometimes prescribed for infants. I researched it 2 years ago, so I don't remember anything more specific than that.
I didn't use BCP, just dom and pumping. It worked great, and I only had to be on the dom for about 3 months before I was able to wean off and keep my supply.
My doctor didn't believe that I could induce lactation, so I did it all on my own. It is pretty simple. Just requires the dom and lots and lots of determination.
I tried the herbs, and they were worthless to me.

Good Luck!

[Polliwog]

Originally Posted by zombie

Dom is supposed to be safe in the breastmilk. I think it is sometimes prescribed for infants. I researched it 2 years ago, so I don't remember anything more specific than that.
I didn't use BCP, just dom and pumping. It worked great, and I only had to be on the dom for about 3 months before I was able to wean off and keep my supply.
My doctor didn't believe that I could induce lactation, so I did it all on my own. It is pretty simple. Just requires the dom and lots and lots of determination.
I tried the herbs, and they were worthless to me.

Good Luck!

I think it's great that worked for you but I know several people who weren't as lucky. Their determination was not a factor.

[SundayCrepes]

You can "meet" a lot of women who have done the newman protocol at www.asklenore.com. THere are also lots of women that just use herbs.

My bioson was slowly weaning so I pumped for 11 months to maintain my supply for our adopted baby. We had a possible match so I started taking dom (got the prescription from my midwife.) That match fell through but I stayed on the dom. A couple months later our daughter was born. She had less than 2 ounces of formula before I got to her. I could never get quite to full supply so supplemented with my frozen milk then started using donor milk I got at www.milkshare.com. She is almost 18 months and still nursing. I also use Motherlove's more milk special blend. It also helped my supply a lot.

I know someone that just got donor milk and gave it through the lactaid. http://www.lact-aid.com/ Don't know if she ever made any milk or not from the nursing, but her baby got most of the benefits of nursing by being at her breast and using donor milk--the only thing she didn't get was fresh antibodies to whatever colds she had.

As far as your goal of 4 ounces a day. You can't judge how much you are making by what you pump. I've just never been a good pumper even when my son was exclusively nursing. Once the baby is at breast you'll never know how much they take in unless you weight them every time they nurse. The advantage of using the lactaid is, even if you're not at full supply or even near it, they might be getting something fresh. Even if it's just a bit.

Regarding side effects for babies on domperidone. I have tandem nursed my 2 kids and have been on dom for almost 2 years. I've seen no side effects. Perhaps there's stuff we can't see, but I figure it can't be worse than the downsides of formula.

[zombie]

Originally Posted by Polliwog

I think it's great that worked for you but I know several people who weren't as lucky. Their determination was not a factor.

I was not trying to malign anyone who it didn't work for. I just meant that it isn't likely to work for anyone at all without determination. It was really hard.

[3cuties]

Hi. I have been on dom for a long time with this baby and my last baby -- so feel free to email me about taking it. www.kellymom.com has links to numerous academic articles considering it. It is also considered safe for the baby while mom is taking it and nursing. There are no side effects at all. While it is not FDA approved, it has not sought FDA approval. I import what I take from Thailand and will be happy to share my source, there are pharmacies local to you that compound it (compounding pharmacies are not regulated by the FDA in the same way) if you want to go that route. So you have some options, I also know of several docs and midwives local to you that would perscribe it for you. As you may remember, I have struggled with supply issues which would be different than your situation but I am happy to help you troubleshoot. Let me know, take care.