h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi all,

Brilliant Entry and a wonderful subject! I had to express milk when my second baby was ill in a special baby care unit for a considerable amount of time; so I know how difficult it is.

I just wondered about this bit:

"The mother may be on a course of medication, which could be passed to the baby through the milk."

Maybe you can expand on this point?

If the mother is taking drugs that prevent breast feeding then expressing won't change the content of her breast milk. Mothers who are taking drugs are generally advised to bottle feed, if there is any possibility that the drugs will affect the baby. If a mother has to take drugs over a *short* period of time she may be advised to express milk whilst the prescription drugs get out of her system, but she must then throw it away, rather than feed it to the baby. This allows her to maintain her milk flow, whilst waiting for the time when her milk is free of drugs and she can continue feeding the baby herself.

A valid point - I could have made it clearer:

If a woman knew she was going to hve a general anasthetic, or undergo a short course of 'unsuitable' medication, she may be advised to build up a store of frozen EBM over the weeks previous to the treatment, so that the baby can be fed in her absence, if she is unconscious oir under the weather etc. She would try to continue expressing during this time, just to keep the milk flow going, but may be advised to discard the milk. Does that make more sense>?

I have the whole bottom drawer of my freezer filled with EBM! I doubt I'll ever need it, but it's reassuring to have it there. For instance, one common cause of interrupted feeding can be when a mother gets a tummy bug or food poisoning. She can't keep food down and the milk can just dry up, and getting it back can be hard. I have a 'buffer' of milk in the freezer to keep the baby going for at least a week if that was to happen.