Lactation

February 16, 2003

Dear Pat,

First of all, welcome back. And it is good to be back up and running again. ;o)

Secondly, you're opening up a lot of issues here. LOL

Historically, "Wet Nurses" have been around a long time. It was not uncommon in ages past for wealthier families to hire an already lactating mother to also nurse the siblings of the family with the bucks. This was done for various reasons, the most common being so the "wealthier" mom didn't lose her girlish figure, and the second for the exact reason your friend is coming up with = not able to nurse due to health reasons.

There have been cases on record where a woman who has had children (but finished her own nursing) has been able to start the lactating process simply by having the newborn start to suckle. This can take up to a couple of weeks before lactation starts again, but the process starts due to the stimulation of the woman's nipple causing a natural hormonal change within her body. I believe there has even been a case on record where this has actually happened with a man (don't ask where I saw this as I'm dredging the ole trivia memory cells here ;o).

The main point to take into consideration here is that it is a turkey shoot (if you've ever hunted turkey, you'll understand this expression ;o) = sometimes you get one, most often you don't. There is no certainty that the milk will come in, and probably a lesser chance with a woman of her age regardless of her earlier child bearing experiences. Supposedly, this natural phenomena works easier with younger women and is still not guaranteed. There are cases on record of it happening naturally with premenopausal women up to the age of 45.

Should she take hormones to stimulate this condition???

Absolutely not!!!

By doing so, she is screwing with the natural order of her own hormone production and could bring about cancer. There are both physical and mental reasons behind this.

My recommendation is that she actually find a "wet nurse" who is willing to suckle two babies (her own and this new born). This is totally acceptable, from a moral, ethical, and an humanitarian viewpoint.

Love,

Doc

Ian "Doc" Shillington N.D.505-772-5889Dr.IanShillington

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Patricia

herbal remedies

Sunday, February 16, 2003 12:03 PM

[herbal remedies] Lactation

Hey everyone I am back.... and Oh so happy to see that all of us are back as well. I have a question for you all. I ran into an old friend who has informed me that her first Grandchild is finally here. The mother had a very hard time of delivery. Involved surgery. massive blood loss and many many drugs. The doctors are still not positive that she will survive. In the mean time the baby is really healthy. The question is that since there is no possibility of the daughter breast feeding the baby - now or ever, my friend (Janet) was approached by her daughter to see if she would breast feed the baby. The doctors and hospital told them that it would be possible as Janet has not gone through menopause as of yet, They suggested some hormone shots. This is out of the question as they are trying to go as natural for the baby as possible. Is there some herbal or more natural way to help bring in Janet's breast milk for this baby. Further information. Janet is 44 years old has had a partial hysterectomy, ovaries are still intact and functioning. She is in great health and really really wants to do this for her grandson. I know of many herbs to increase milk flow but am stumped as to what to suggest to help start milk flow.

Patricia

February 17, 2003

Hi Patricia,

Here is an excerpt from Adele Davis' book "Let's have healthy children":

"I myself have talked to 2 American women, corresponded with 3 others, and read in the La Leche League News of still more women who successfully nursed adopted babies. A few had previously nursed children of their own, but most had never been pregnant. With the patience of saints, these women had put their babies to the breast, and simultaneously kept a cup of formula in warm water at their elbows; the formula was dropped by medicine dropper onto their nipples whenever the baby appeared to be about to give up sucking. Usually their own milk did not come in for 10 days to 2 weeks. The amount of breast milk increased rapidly thereafter, and the formula was discontinued."

Hope this helps.

love,

Lisa

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Patricia

herbal remedies

Sunday, February 16, 2003 7:03 PM

[herbal remedies] Lactation

Hey everyone I am back.... and Oh so happy to see that all of us are back as well. I have a question for you all. I ran into an old friend who has informed me that her first Grandchild is finally here. The mother had a very hard time of delivery. Involved surgery. massive blood loss and many many drugs. The doctors are still not positive that she will survive. In the mean time the baby is really healthy. The question is that since there is no possibility of the daughter breast feeding the baby - now or ever, my friend (Janet) was approached by her daughter to see if she would breast feed the baby. The doctors and hospital told them that it would be possible as Janet has not gone through menopause as of yet, They suggested some hormone shots. This is out of the question as they are trying to go as natural for the baby as possible. Is there some herbal or more natural way to help bring in Janet's breast milk for this baby. Further information. Janet is 44 years old has had a partial hysterectomy, ovaries are still intact and functioning. She is in great health and really really wants to do this for her grandson. I know of many herbs to increase milk flow but am stumped as to what to suggest to help start milk flow.

PatriciaFederal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire. 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy. 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and toprescribe for your own health. We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as they behave themselves. Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members, you are agreeing to be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members free of any liability. Dr. Ian ShillingtonDoctor of NaturopathyDr.IanShillington

February 17, 2003

High doses of Blessed Thistle, Fenugreek, Fennel Seed. All these can be taken in a tea form. I sweetened it with Stevia. I know that blessed thistle can be taken in capsule form. Fenugreek has to steep for 3 hours in cold water and fennel can be made with hot water with 3 min of steep. Please remember that you would be talking about very high doses of these herbs. As far as I know, there are no known side effects.

Patricia [phoward] Sunday, February 16, 2003 11:03 AMherbal remedies Subject: [herbal remedies] Lactation

Hey everyone I am back.... and Oh so happy to see that all of us are back as well. I have a question for you all. I ran into an old friend who has informed me that her first Grandchild is finally here. The mother had a very hard time of delivery. Involved surgery. massive blood loss and many many drugs. The doctors are still not positive that she will survive. In the mean time the baby is really healthy. The question is that since there is no possibility of the daughter breast feeding the baby - now or ever, my friend (Janet) was approached by her daughter to see if she would breast feed the baby. The doctors and hospital told them that it would be possible as Janet has not gone through menopause as of yet, They suggested some hormone shots. This is out of the question as they are trying to go as natural for the baby as possible. Is there some herbal or more natural way to help bring in Janet's breast milk for this baby. Further information. Janet is 44 years old has had a partial hysterectomy, ovaries are still intact and functioning. She is in great health and really really wants to do this for her grandson. I know of many herbs to increase milk flow but am stumped as to what to suggest to help start milk flow.

PatriciaFederal Law requires that we warn you of the following: 1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire. 2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician before using any natural remedy. 3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be your own physician and toprescribe for your own health. We are not medical doctors although MDs are welcome to post here as long as they behave themselves. Any opinions put forth by the list members are exactly that, and any person following the advice of anyone posting here does so at their own risk. It is up to you to educate yourself. By accepting advice or products from list members, you are agreeing to be fully responsible for your own health, and hold the List Owner and members free of any liability. Dr. Ian ShillingtonDoctor of NaturopathyDr.IanShillington

February 17, 2003

I just got off the phone with my friend Janet and she has decided to try doing this. She got in touch with the wet nurse that the hospital uses. The baby (they named him Jeremy) is now being fed by the wet nurse 3 times daily and bottle fed breast milk the other times. Janet is taking high doses of Fennel, Wild Yam, Blessed thistle and I believe Fenugreek as well as evening primrose to help balance hormones. Tonight she will start letting the baby suckle on her before each and every feeding as well as she has a little hand breast pump to use in between. She is sooooo excited about this. Her daughter Kelly is doing much better and should be able to leave the hospital in a few weeks as Jeremy can come home in a few days. Thank you for all your suggestions. I personally think this is such a wonderful thing and would try it myself if in the same circumstances.

Patricia

FYI - this wet nurse that the hospital uses is really great - she told them that this is not as unusual a thing as you might think - there are a lot of adoptive moms that do this and with enough persistence the success rate for younger women is about 70% but in older women (over 40) that have breast fed before the success rate is still over 50%.

February 17, 2003

Dear Pat,

Yes, the wild yam should help. It's the synthetics I'd stay away from.

Love,

Doc

PS. Give her my best wishes ;o)

Ian "Doc" Shillington N.D.505-772-5889Dr.IanShillington

-

Patricia

herbal remedies

Monday, February 17, 2003 12:53 PM

Re: [herbal remedies] Lactation

I just got off the phone with my friend Janet and she has decided to try doing this. She got in touch with the wet nurse that the hospital uses. The baby (they named him Jeremy) is now being fed by the wet nurse 3 times daily and bottle fed breast milk the other times. Janet is taking high doses of Fennel, Wild Yam, Blessed thistle and I believe Fenugreek as well as evening primrose to help balance hormones. Tonight she will start letting the baby suckle on her before each and every feeding as well as she has a little hand breast pump to use in between. She is sooooo excited about this. Her daughter Kelly is doing much better and should be able to leave the hospital in a few weeks as Jeremy can come home in a few days. Thank you for all your suggestions. I personally think this is such a wonderful thing and would try it myself if in the same circumstances.

Patricia

FYI - this wet nurse that the hospital uses is really great - she told them that this is not as unusual a thing as you might think - there are a lot of adoptive moms that do this and with enough persistence the success rate for younger women is about 70% but in older women (over 40) that have breast fed before the success rate is still over 50%.