Hi,
What a wonderful friend for trying to help her out with this!
PUMP
Your friend will need a really good double electric pump, preferabbly a hospital grade one that she can rent. This will be better than even the most expensive pumps she can purchase elsewhere (such as the medela pump in style). She can check with local hospitals, birth centers, or breastfeeding/parenting centers to find someone who rents them out. She will want to pump every 2-3 hrs during the day and about every 3 hrs at night in order for her body think that a newborn is nursing. She should pump for 15 minutes each time. She does not need to go longer than 15 minutes. It is more important to pump more often (more times during the day), than for longer times. This is because each time she pumps her prolactin levels will rise higher. Pumping for a longer amount of time each time does not really raise the prolactin levels. Prolactin is the milk making hormone. It is recommended that she pumps at least 10 times in a 24hr period.
When pumping, she can help raise her prolactin levels even more by pumping for 5 minutes, then resting for 1 minute while not pumping, pump for 5 minutes, rest for 1 min, then pump for 5 minutes. This will trick her body into thinking that it is actually having 3 nursing sessions, which will make the prolactin levels go up even higher. Again, more times is better than longer duration.
How long has it been since she has breastfed? How old will the baby be when she adopts? Does she know when she will get her baby?
SUPPLEMENT
A good supplemental nursing system for an adoptive mom is a lact-aid. She can find info about it online. This will allow her to nurse her baby while it is also getting the formula supplement. This will noursih her baby at the same time as stimulating her breasts - and a baby is much more effective than a pump so as much as she can put baby to breast, the better!
SKIN TO SKIN & NURSE LOTS
When her baby is in her arms, she should do LOTS of sking to skin. This is where she is topless or her button down shirt is unbottoned and her baby is only wearing a diaper. Her baby lays skin to skin on her chest. She can then drape a blanket over the baby. Skin to skin is SO wonderful - and it too helps the prolactin levels to rise. Baby may even want to latch on during these times. Do skin to skin and nurse as much as possible.
Good luck to your friend! I hope she is able to provide some wonderful mother's milk for her baby!
