Gloria wrote:

<<..some cultures believe that colostum is not good, and the moms do
not nurse until the mature milk comes in.  I have heard that this is the case
in Vietnam as well.>>

When I worked at a small community hospital near Monterey CA ('84) this was a
common belief among the Vietnamese moms and they insisted on giving abm for
about three days. Same thing when I worked in San Diego, Jax FL, and here in
Northern VA. Wonder if a nih medline search would yield any research done on
this cultural tradition, why so common in the states?

Very interesting chat that Gloria had with her mil:

<<I believe that my mil's explanation about how the colostrum cleans the baby
out might help these moms understand the need to nurse the baby
immediately----more so than talking about immunity being passed to baby>>

Also, when working with these moms to encourage early feedings at breast, I
heard a suggestion once to refer to colostrum as being like "liquid gold".

Deb
Springfield, VA