>Does anyone know really how many calories it takes to make milk?


No, I don't think so : )

I have collected resources to counter the oft-repeated advice that
mothers must eat a lot more in order to make quality milk in the
right quantities.

Here's Ted Griener's article on diet and bf:

http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/3156/energy.htm



This above article is quite long, but it draws on several studies.
Most have been done in the developing world, where undernutrition is
a lot more common. It's notable that studies show that 'feeding the
mother' has no apparent effect on quality or quantity of breastmilk.

Here's another one, from the UNICEF Baby Friendly conference last
year http://www.babyfriendly.org.uk/pdfs/02prog.pdf

This article quotes The International Dietary Energy Consultancy
Group who have stated that lactation performance 'must become
compromised when undernutrition is sufficiently severe, but it
appears that this must occur only in famine or near famine
conditions.'

This article also has several references.

It appears that pg or lactating women metabolise differently, and
they get more value out of every calorie, and of course the fat laid
down in pg is an energy store.

I get quite cross when women whose bf is going badly are told it is
somehow their fault for not eating enough or well....and stuff like
feeding effectiveness and frequency  is not even addressed : (

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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