after talking to the lactation consultant we couldn't figure out what the problem was... until she asked me about birth control. when i told her i'd had the mirena placed about a week ago, she told me that was it. the progesterone released by the mirena is supposedly only localized to the uterus, but she said that some people are extra sensitive to progesterone in their bodies and have troubles anytime hormones are used. (the progesterone causes your body to produce more estrogen, which in turn blocks prolactin, which is the hormone that makes your body produce milk.) so, yes, i tried adding extra pumping sessions, taking my fenugreek, blessed thistle, drinking until i thought i might have water poisoning, pumping after feeding, putting her to breast more, sleeping (as i could), eating right.. blah blah blah. i tried it all.. but it turns out if your hormones aren't working- you just ain't gonna make milk! the lc told me that i'd probably dry up in the next few days if it had affected me so drastically already.
little bitty iud, little bitty milk supply
i went down to the walk in clinic this afternoon and had it removed. the doctor assured me that the lactation consultant, and i, are both just stark raving mad. that it "absolutely is not causing supply issues". that it "has been approved for breastfeeding women". "that galactagogues don't work" anyway. and that i should just "keep feeding her" to get my supply up. but that she "would remove it anyway if i insisted". perfect. nothing like being made to feel like an idiot when you have no sleep and are so worried about feeding your kid that you'd try just about anything. which is what i did, i had the dang thing removed. when i asked her about getting reglan for a boost (as the lc recommended) she said "it absolutely doesn't work, and studies show that it has no effect on breastmilk production", and that "none of the attending obs will prescribe it".
when i got back to the nicu, the lc heard me talking to the nurse about my experience, and she was hopping mad. she said that there are studies that support galactagogues, and reglan for that matter. and also, that many women have trouble with hormone birth control methods while bfing. she got the docs name to have the ob department "re-trained on lactation". haha... pretty hysterical.
my milk is already coming back up tonight... so much for the ob expertise. now... what do do about birth control???
