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Home › Articles › Overcoming Difficulties › Relactation

Relactation

The Chance To Change Course

By Susan Sempeles

Pages:  1  2  3  

You breastfed your baby for a few weeks, tried to transition to formula but your little one isn't adjusting. Maybe your newborn had to remain hospitalized after birth and you're just beginning full-time nursing at three weeks. Or perhaps you were seriously ill or hospitalized for a week and had to temporarily refrain from nursing.

These are just some of the real-life situations that can present a new mother with the challenges of relactation, whereby the body returns to producing milk after having stopped or slowed down.

"You also have cases where a new mother just changes her mind after leaving the hospital," says Barbara Shocker, RN, BSN, IBCLC, certified lactation consultant and member of the International Lactation Consultants Association. "We see that sometimes in young women who think they don't want to breastfeed -- maybe friends and family have influenced their decision initially -- and then they discover that they do want to try."

Is it difficult to re-establish a milk supply? Shocker discusses two key factors: the age of the infant and how much time has passed since initial lactation. And, she stresses, each case is unique.

"A 10-day-old infant will more readily take to the breast than a 4-month-old," she says. "Babies on a bottle for a while get used to it and don't want to work harder at the breast. And the mother will need the stimulation of her baby to help milk production."

Questions to Consider
Because it can be challenging and time-consuming, Shocker suggests a woman considering relactation ask herself these questions:

  1. What is my primary reason for wanting to do this?
  2. What is my baby's age? Is it reasonable to expect him or her to nurse again?
  3. How much time has elapsed since I lactated?
  4. What is my breastfeeding goal? If I can only produce half of what my baby needs, will I be satisfied?
  5. Do I have my family's support for this decision? Do they understand that feedings will take longer and may be frustrating?
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