Photo credit: benklocek

Photo credit: ar.go.naut

Photo credit: Mike Hanlon

Remember when I interviewed Dr. Jane Morton about breastfeeding education for medical professionals? Remember when I mentioned her free online video on hand expression of breast milk? Well today I learned from About.com Breastfeeding that Dr. Morton has another fascinating free video online, this time about increasing breast milk supply when it is necessary to pump for a baby in the NICU or any baby not nursing well at the breast. It is called “Maximizing Milk Production” and in 9 minutes 35 seconds, it explains how to increase milk supply without medication. Dr. Morton recommends and demonstrates such techniques as skin-to-skin contact, breast massage, “hands-on pumping,” breast compressions, and hand expression after pumping. What was really amazing to me was to see how much milk mothers were able to hand express after a pumping session!

Yet another study recently showed that breastfeeding helps fight breast cancer by reducing a breastfeeding woman’s risk of developing certain types of breast cancer. Still, it remains critical to fight breast cancer through the funding of breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment. I am proud to say my sister Jill McNabb has committed to the cause by agreeing to participate in the Breast Cancer 3-Day — a 60-mile walk over the course of three days — and raising at least $2,200 in donations in the process (her goal is actually $3,000 and she’s raised $1,800 so far!) Jill will be part of the Washington, D.C. event starting on October 3, 2008. She explains why she feels so passionate about supporting breast cancer awareness:

I am walking in support of every woman I know, and in memory of a friend who was younger than I am now when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. She found her second recurrence herself (which her doctors first told her was just scar tissue) when she was pregnant with her second son. They waited until 6 weeks before his due date so the baby was healthy enough to induce labor so she could start chemotherapy again. I watched her endure another battle with chemo with a toddler and a newborn baby, always with strength and dignity, providing as “normal” an environment as possible for her family. We lost her at age 38, brilliant, beautiful and strong until the very end. Stacey was my mentor and friend, and I miss her terribly.

You can help fight breast cancer too by making a donation to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and National Philanthropic Trust. Click here to donate. I’ll be sure to let you know how much Jill raises and how the walk goes!

Once you make your donation, you might be interested in reading these articles on breastfeeding and breast cancer:

Leaking Breast Milk after Surgery for Lumpectomy
Breast Self-Exams in Lactating Women
Video Demonstration of Breast Self-Exam
Promising Anti-Cancer Powers of Breast Milk
Breast Cancer Testing: X-rays, Mammograms, Ultrasounds, Cat Scans
Breastfeeding after Chemotherapy, Radiation and Lumpectomy
Breastfeeding Reduces Cancer Risk
One-Sided Nursing with Full Supply

Thelma and Louise? Lucy and Ethel?

Have you given your “girls” a nickname? Does your nursling have a special name for your breasts? My breasts — and I am sure the world really needs to know this — are called “mum-mums” (interestingly, the same as the name for nursing, “mum-mum,” while the breast milk is called “mum-mum milk,” as opposed to cow’s milk). As a child (long after I weaned) I called my mother’s breasts Mount Fujis!

Leave a comment and humor us with your own nicknames!

Vasospasm is a constricting of the blood vessels in the nipple. Due to poor latch and compression of the nipple by the baby, vasospasm causes the nipple to turn white (and possibly then blue and then red) and results in throbbing, stabbing or burning pain. Vasospasm is also associated with Raynaud’s phenomenon (a sudden narrowing of the arteries). For resources on vasospasm, see:

~ “Nipple blanching and vasospasm” by Kellymom.com
~ “Seeking Relief,” NEW BEGINNINGS
~ “Brrrr…ouch! It’s the season for Raynaud’s” at the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog
~ “Treatment for Raynaud’s” by Dr. Jack Newman

The Pregnancy Journal: A Day-to-Day Guide to a Healthy and Happy Pregnancy is the journal I have used to document each of my three pregnancies. I love the daily bits of information it shares and how easy it is to write short journal entries as my pregnancy progresses. Many of the daily tips pertain to breastfeeding. Here is one fun fact:

The calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of breast milk is ideal for moving calcium into the baby’s skeleton and promoting growth. In addition, breast milk is low in sodium, and iron and zinc from breast milk is absorbed better than from cow’s milk.

- by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D., The Pregnancy Journal: A Day-to-Day Guide to a Healthy and Happy Pregnancy, p. 134.

Some women end up with a bountiful stash of frozen breast milk — be it from oversupply, a baby in the NICU, or an infant who turns out to be allergic to something in the milk pumped so far. Some of those women are moved to donate the excess milk to a non-profit milk bank. In the past few days, I have heard two women express (no pun intended) frustration at the restrictions posted on women who wish to qualify as breast milk donors. One, whose oversupply and dairy-free diet could certainly have benefited a milk bank, was turned away because she had lived in Great Britain in the ’80s.

Another wrote to tell me her story, and to explain why she supports informal breast milk sharing or donation. Her daughter was born premature at 30 weeks gestation. Fortunately the baby is doing well now and she should be released from the NICU in another two weeks. Here is what the mother had to say about what she hopes to do with her stash of expressed breast milk:

Since our baby has been in the NICU for the last 7 weeks, I have about 2,000 oz of breast milk frozen. We have filled our space allotment in the hospital’s milk bank, filled our freezer at home, and have almost filled my mom’s freezer. There’s no possible way [my daughter] will ever catch up with what I have stored, and anyway, I prefer to breastfeed [when she is ready to transition to the breast]. (We didn’t use bottles much at all with our first.)

I first looked at donating to a milk bank, but can’t because one of the requirements is that you haven’t received a blood transfusion within the past 12 months, so that ruled out that option. (I had practically all of the blood in my body replaced during/after an emergency C-section . . .) Another mother in the NICU was literally pouring her milk down the drain, because she had also filled her space in the hospital’s freezer and her home freezer. I just couldn’t bring myself to do that, because I knew there were people that would really appreciate it. I just didn’t know where to find them.

When I was craving ice cream a few nights ago (which I couldn’t buy because we don’t have room in the freezer for it), I decided I had to take some actions to find a home for it. In my search, I saw that there are quite a few people passionately against milk sharing. Not sure why when obviously there are many healthy people with abundant supplies and many people who can’t afford to purchase milk from a milk bank. Most people do home pasteurization in some form anyway. Obviously people should be aware of the risks of taking a stranger’s milk . . .

Anyway, I think I’ve found someone who wants me to ship all my milk to her, but that milkshare Yahoo group is really active, and I’m pretty sure if this lady I’ve been in communication with changes her mind, that I wouldn’t have any trouble finding a home for it. I do think that milk sharing deserves more attention though, because a lot of women who give birth are also given a blood transfusion, and current milk banking practices eliminate all of those women from donating. (My sister researched the reason for this, and it’s because there was one case of West Nile virus being transmitted through donated milk. If a woman waits through the incubation period to donate her milk, then she can rule out that threat.) And the state of medical insurance what it is, most families can’t afford to buy milk from a bank.

Well, I’ve been long winded here. I just know I’m not the only NICU parent with an excess of milk, so there are others who don’t know what to do with their milk.

I am pleased and grateful that this woman wrote to share her opinion on informal breast milk donation. What’s your opinion? Would you donate your milk informally? Would you take advantage of casual milk sharing if you and your baby had the need? How do you feel about any potential risk of disease transmission or other problems with milk not screened by a milk bank? Are independent testing and pasteurization methods adequate? Leave a comment!