Catherine, the difference between 28 and 40 ounces is quite a bit of a
range. And still would allow for less than 6 oz. at a feed if the baby
is fed a minimum of 8 times a day. This is where my concern comes
from...who determines the longer stretches. Culture or biology? And
how does that match up to maternal storage capacity? If a mother's
capacity is not that 6-7 ounces, isn't that going to create a
perceived problem with supply? And how about moms expressing much
less than that amount when separated from their baby? I guess my
question is not so much 'can' a baby consume huge amounts at once (we
know they can guzzle a bottle of 8 ounces if provided), my question is
would they choose to if the feedings were not delayed to match a
culturally determined concept of feeding and offering the breast for
strictly 'food'? Of course, I do know there is not an answer since we
can only find ranges, and those ranges can be as much as 12 ounces a
day.
For me I also wonder how healthy it is for babies to stretch their
feeds and then consume large amounts. If the babies are the ones
choosing to stretch feeds, that's one thing, but if it is the
pacifier, the swaddle, or the mother than perhaps that is not really
what is healthiest for the baby. I wonder about this because mothers
are told that after a few months babies can go longer and longer
between feeds, they can sleep through the night, etc. and what does
this do to production when we consider storage capacity for some
mothers is not going to balance with the limited feeds.
I have often wondered if part of the problem with obesity and formula
fed infants is not the formula itself, but the large volume of feeds
spread over longer stretches of time interfering with stopping at
'just full' and eating at 'just hungry' being a baby's choice.
Instead we see eat as much as they can hold and make them wait as long
as possible to do it again.. I wonder if when we look at obesity in
children we need to look at more than what they were fed, but also how
they were fed....frequently or longer stretches. Small amounts at a
time or large volumes to the point of over full.
Just my random thoughts.....
Pam MazzellaDiBosco, IBCLC, RLC
Looking forward to seeing many faces in Chicago!
On 7/15/07, Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Actually, one longitudinal study that did 24 hour test weights several
> times during the first year in happily growing breastfed babies did find
> that the range for male babies was 28-40 ounces per day.
>
> Of course, some babies ARE grazers, and will take smaller amounts more
> often, but in my practice babies that feed infrequently are taking 6-7
> oz per feeding, and those that are taking 2 oz per feeding are feeding
> 12-14 times a day or more.
> Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC NYC
>
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