The Land of Plenty

Lisa Daily is a nursing mom. With her first child, she was a regular milking machine; she pumped for 20 minutes for a good 8 ounces – 4 ounces on each side. Now, with her second child, she can't pump.

"When I make the attempt, there just isn't much milk – I have to do a couple of pumpings to get a full feeding," says Daily, of Fort Myers, Fla. "And then, I usually need to top her off with the breast, which sort of negates the point of pumping and bottle-feeding in the first place."

This effort makes Daily frustrated because, she says, pumping is not exactly fun. "After 20 minutes, you're left with a tablespoon of milk," she says. "I start thinking, this little bit of milk won't get me anywhere. I should have taken a shower or napped instead."

Daily isn't alone in her pumping pathos. Mothers have difficulties pumping for many reasons, says Kathleen Bruce, RN, BSN, IBCLC, who serves as head of Medela's online Q&A service. Reasons can include any of these:

• A poor or faulty pump
• Poor response to the pump
• Bad timing of pump use
• Wrong breast shield size
• Infrequent breastfeeding or pumping
• Lack of confidence in pumping

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