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Wasting breast milk

Discussion in 'Beautiful Breastfeeding' started by desertdaisy, Jan 16, 2012.

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  1. desertdaisy Member

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    Hi All,

    I'm a hopeful student midwife to be (interview on Friday!!) but I wanted somewhere to express my frustration. One of my best friends has just had a beautiful baby boy who is now two weeks old and she's stopped breastfeeding. instead she expresses the milk and pours it down the sink!! Apparently she thinks that feeding him on formula and breast milk was giving him an upset stomach so she's just feeding him formula now.

    I can't say too much as she knows it all and has chosen this path so I have to respect her choice but I find it so frustrating! It's like having an abundance of free steak and choosing to eat hamburger meat instead. :?

    thanks for listening!
    desertdaisy, Jan 16, 2012
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  2. JolenePolene Well-Known Member

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    Re: wasting breast milk :(

    Hi DesertDaisy,

    It is frustrating, but it's her choice really and you have to respect that, whatever your feelings on the subject. I don't know if you've had children, but sometimes you do make odd choices, probably hormones and lack of sleep, but whatever her reasons, she obviously feels it's best for her, so she needs your support. x
    JolenePolene, Jan 16, 2012
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  3. desertdaisy Member

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    Re: wasting breast milk :(

    Hi JP, she has it of course which is why I came on here to vent instead of to her. It's a shame that we don't have milk banks here really.
    desertdaisy, Jan 16, 2012
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  4. JolenePolene Well-Known Member

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    Re: wasting breast milk :(

    Excellent DD, of course use here to vent and good luck for Friday. x
    JolenePolene, Jan 16, 2012
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  5. Iris Crazy person

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    It is a shame that your friend feels that way but it is her decision. I feel your frustration, a friend of mine realy wanted to bf her baby and she had her prematurely and worked really hard to get bf established before her baby was discharged and a few days later she took her to the paed assessment unit with a cold and they gave her really bad advice and basically told her it was lunacy to bf a prem and she listened and switched to formula, despite all the support and encouragement to bf she had in the scbu. I found it very difficult to bite my tongue but you have to as a friend.
    Iris, Jan 16, 2012
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  6. chinamonkey Active Member

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    Re: wasting breast milk :(

    WHAT?????? Am i missing something here? I would have thought that would be the very best thing to do for a prem????:ban::ban:
    chinamonkey, Jan 16, 2012
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  7. Strawberry Active Member

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    Re: wasting breast milk :(

    Aww thats a shame :( but why is she expressing it if she doesnt want to carry on bfing? she needs to stop and just wait for the milk production to stop unfortunately as expressing it off will just keep it going. It may be uncomfortable for a few days but itll just keep on if not!
    Strawberry, Jan 16, 2012
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  8. Wozza Moderator

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    Re: wasting breast milk :(

    Thats what I was just going to say, she'll never stop producing if she keeps expressing and throwing it away!
    Wozza, Jan 16, 2012
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  9. Iris Crazy person

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    Is she keeping her options open in case just formula doesn't settle his tummy the way she hopes it will? It sounds like she perceives there to be a problem and she is trying to fix it by cutting out breastmilk, is she expressing in case she wants to reintroduce it later? I wouldn't tell her to stop expressing, just in case she changes her mind later. Or maybe she is expressing to help lose weight? In which case seems extreme if she doesn't actually want to bf so unlikely but thought I'd throw it in there!
    Iris, Jan 16, 2012
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  10. desertdaisy Member

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    Re: wasting breast milk :(

    I didn't ask her about losing weight, though it might be an option! She's only expressing when she feels really uncomfortable so it dries up but (having never had a baby myself) I thought that as long as she's expressing even a little, she'll continue to produce milk? Or will her body recognise that she is weaning herself down and stop?

    I don't want to give her advice in case it's wrong but it would be nice to know if she's going about it the right way or if she needs to stop altogether?
    desertdaisy, Jan 16, 2012
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