Breast milk in DS patients

lawgurl1234
on 3/29/11 9:55 pm
Does anyone here know if breastmilk in post op DS mothers is as good as breastmilk in non DS/non WLS patients? I called my surgeons office and they said this question has not been addressed by this office before and that perhaps I should have my breast milk tested? I am going to ask my OB at Kaiser to test my breastmilk but not sure how receptive they will be....
HW 297/SW 257/pre-preg low 165/preg weight 178/GW 150

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Blank Out
on 3/29/11 10:17 pm
 It seems to me if your labs are good, I would assume your breast milk would have all the good stuff in it too!   You could always supplement with formula if you were worried.
     
HW/ 302  SW/287  CW/140  GW/135

(deactivated member)
on 3/29/11 10:25 pm
I don't know the answer, but was just cuddling my soon to be 13 year old baby and was remembering holding and nursing him.    It was such a wonderful bonding time.  I really hope your milk tests good and that you can nurse.  Congratulations on your pregnancy/baby and Best Wishes!!! 
Larissa P.
on 3/29/11 10:50 pm - Denton, TX
Your body will rob anything from you to give your baby ultimate nutrition. There should be no fear as long as your labs are good, as stated. Also, get extra protein and calcium for good measure.

I NEVER advocate feeding a baby formula, too, "just in case." Formula (a substandard food) fills the baby up and reduces his or her nursing, which in turn reduces your milk production, which leads to the baby needing more formula, etc. It is a slippery slope and will kill your chances of successful long term nursing (assuming this is your goal).

(Ex-breastfeeding peer support gal. Disclaimer: yeah, I'm a bit of a hippy with home births, etc.)
Duodenal Switch hybrid due to complications.
 
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unewillow
on 3/29/11 11:08 pm, edited 3/30/11 12:08 am - CT
It should be fine as long as *you* are getting adequate nutrition. Which may mean upping your own protein/caloric intake since BFeeding will ramp up your metabolism. It will also be very important to increase your fluid intake above and beyond the normal.

But, even if your breastmilk is slightly nutrient deficient it is still a better choice than formula. You can always start the baby on vitamin supplimentation (and in fact should give them extra Vit D and Iron regardless).

ETA: Another thing you and your pediatrician may consider if you baby is not gaining weight consistently is having you pump milk and fortifying it with formula mixed in and feeding this maybe every other feed. The baby still gets all the benefits of breastmilk, just with a higher amount of calories per ounce.
            
scubadiva
on 3/29/11 11:14 pm
You should ask "Geberika"... though she is not always checking this forum.  She is breast feeding with her DS.  I know her baby wasn't gaining weight initially and she was really worried about her breast milk.  But her surgeon, Dr. Gagner, didn't think it was her milk.  She is however ALWAYS breast feeding nearly 24/7 with hardly any sleep.  Her baby is around 3 months old.  Healthy.
mnaath
on 3/29/11 11:28 pm
Hi there,
Great question. I breastfed my 2 year old post DS. I also breastfed my 10 year old, pre-DS. I will tell you this. If I had to go back and do it again. I would have my milk tested and I would supplement with formula.

My son was hungry all the time. I breast fed him every 2-3 hours during his waking times up until 7 months when I just couldn't keep up. With my daughter...I had soooo much extra milk that I was able to pump in between sessions with her and freeze enough breastmilk for her to have a months supply after I quit breastfeeding.

I was never able to pump with my son. I didn't even have enough to feed him. He was draining me. During growth spurts he would nurse every hour. It was torture. And he was in the 10-20th percentile. My daughter was in the 90th percentile. At 8 months when I switched him to formula he finally ate only every 4 hours and was content in between feeds. AND he jumped to 50th percentile (which is where he remains today).

I am CONVINCED that my breastmilk did not have adequate FAT for him. Remember...one of the main ingredients of breast milk is FAT and sugar. We don't absorb much fat...so how fatty do you think your breastmilk is going to be?

With that said, my son is healthy and thriving. But there is always this nagging concern that I should have supplemented with a few bottles of formula/day sooner. We want to give our children the BEST start in life as far as brain development.

He's a good kid, but there is just a nagging feeling that I should have been more careful.

Definitely get your milk tested! Your baby and your sanity is worth it!

Babies need FAT FAT FAT for good brain development.

I would still have breastfed my son because I think that is the best option but I wouldn't have tortured either one of us and would have thrown in formula a couple times/day.

The other thing is...that breastfeeding and pregnancy literally sucked every nutrient out of me. I was deficient for sometime after. Please please make sure you monitor your levels every few months and massively increase your protein, iron, ADEKs while pregnant/breastfeeding.

Take care and ENJOY!!!  I love love LOVE babies!

                        ~~ Maryanne ~~
                  (SW280 GW140 LW155 CW173)
 
               
 ***Working on losing my re-gain!***
           

Lisey
on 3/30/11 12:48 am - Milwaukee suburb, WI
Great thread as I'm planning on having kids in the next 5 years (since I've got "the one"! BF now)Do you think it's even possible to strive to consume enough fat where the amout that is absorbed approaches what a typical woman might have?  Do you get hungrier while breastfeeding that you could eat that much??  Of course keeping in mind you're also trying to eat more protein . . . If you eat 300gms of fat/day, then you absorb about 60.  I think the highest I've ever gone was 250ms/day upon occasion.Do you get hungry enough, even possible, to aim for that high of amount?

HW / SW / CW / GW      299 / 287160 / 140     Feb '09 / Mar '09 / Dec '13 /Aug '10          

Appendicitis/Bowel Obstruction Surgery 8/21/10
Beat Hodgkin's Lymphoma!  7/15/2011 - 1/26/2012 


Ran Half-Marathon 10/14/2012

First Pregnancy, Due 8/12/14                             I LOVE MY DS!!!
 

Kayla B.
on 3/30/11 10:25 am - Austin, TX
I would worry that eating too much fat would increase transit time and actually cause more malabsorption of other things.  I think digestive enzymes would probably be a better alternative.

I also learned in a nutrition class that I am taking right now that some treatments of malabsorptive disorders include adding medium-chain triglycerides to tube feedings because a portion of them are able to be absorbed completely independent of bile or lipase (the stuff from your bile and pancreas). I think it is also added to infant formulas and is naturally in breast milk. 

Coconut oil is a source.

Just puttin' that out there.  It could potentially be added during baking, protein shakes, etc.
5'9.5" | HW: 368 | SW: 353 | CW: 155 +/- 5 lbs | Angel to kkanne
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Lisey
on 3/30/11 2:28 pm - Milwaukee suburb, WI
I didn't even think of digestive enzymes!

I actually use coconut oil as my primary oil & use cocount milk from a can (in Asian food aisle, not coconut milk in dairy section) in place of 1/2 & 1/2 or heavy whipping cream.  I knew that it had more medium-chain triglycerides that are heart-healthy, I like the taste, & too much lactose does me in so it's a good substitute.  I did not know, though, that I would absorb more of it.  I guess I'm glad I know that now vs before else I might never have started using it, being afraid of absorbing more.  Since it doesn't really seem to make a difference on my waistline, I'll keep it!   I also sometimes use it in place of butter in a recipe, like mashed potatoes - primarily when I'm cooking with my BF b/c he's strictly gluten & dairy free.

HW / SW / CW / GW      299 / 287160 / 140     Feb '09 / Mar '09 / Dec '13 /Aug '10          

Appendicitis/Bowel Obstruction Surgery 8/21/10
Beat Hodgkin's Lymphoma!  7/15/2011 - 1/26/2012 


Ran Half-Marathon 10/14/2012

First Pregnancy, Due 8/12/14                             I LOVE MY DS!!!
 

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