>I have permission to post. A mother in the US has contacted me about >her son's upcoming cleft palate surgery. He is fed almost >exclusively expressed breast milk, occasionally formula when the >mother can't pump enough. >The mother has contacted two surgeons about her sons palate surgery >and they both reccomend she fortify her BM "since he's a bit >underweight and will need more body weight in order to recover >faster after surgery". > >He was born at 2.5kg (5lb8oz) and is now almost 3.5 months and >weighs 3.9kg (8lb8oz) > >I have checked the WHO charts and he was born on the 3rd percentile. >According to the chart, at 3.5 months a baby on the third percentile >should weigh 5.4kg (11lb14oz). Yikes. This baby is way underweight. Really *seriously* underweight. You don't say how often she is expressing or what amount of milk she is getting. Clearly, he needs more milk - but the easiest way to get this is to express more often which will improve her supply and of course his intake. The concern would be that her supply has been low for a long time and she would need to express *often* day and night, both breasts several times, and she is already (you say) at the end of her rope with regard to pumping. Maybe this baby should not wait until she can build up her supply, 'cos this won't happen overnight. This situation is outside my boundaries, to be honest, except to say that here (and I expect everywhere) this baby would be regarded as seriously under-nourished, and this would be regarded as an emergency. Has this mother not been getting paediatric support apart from the surgeons? How on earth has he been left to gain so slowly for so long? Heather Welford Neil NCT bfc, tutor, UK -- *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome