Breastfeeding/lactation

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Expert: - 2/25/2008


Question
Dear Sally,
I have 19 mos twins.  I tried for months to nurse and pump.  After three months I gave up pumping for my health.  I was to give up nursing to, but I nursed one of the girls until she was 6 months old, and I had to quit due to a medication I was taking.  (The other refused to latch.  It's a long story but basically they needed supplemented in the NICU and she liked the faster bottle better than mom).  

Though, I felt like a failure, both girls are doing exceedingly well right now, and I am very thankful.

I am writing because though I never had enough supply to go without supplement (as you can tell it was a difficult pregnancy and birth), I have not stopped lactating to some degree since their birth.  About a week, I noticed an increase in lactation, almost like a "let down."  I thought I may be pregnant but I've had two negative urine tests and today I started my period.  Do you have any idea what is going on?  Do I need to be worried?
Thanks,
Mandy

Answer
Dear Mandy,

First, congratulations for giving your daughters the best start in life by breastfeeding them! You deserve special praise for persisting in light of the problems you were having. I hope you no longer feel like a failure -- it sounds as if you are a great mom!

Your renewed "lactation" is unusual, this long after you weaned your girls. You probably have nothing to worry about, but I suggest that you call your obstetrician and make an appointment to see her/him soon. Whenever there's anything out of the ordinary going on in our bodies, we should always check it out, just to reassure ourselves that there is no medical problem. So please do this.

Good luck!

Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with Laura M. Marks, M.D.  

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Sally Wendkos Olds

Expertise

What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.

Experience

I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.

Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.

Other points of interest I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding. To find out more about me, go to

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