Thankyou to all those who have contacted me personally expressing interest
in the new research presented from the Hartmann group at ISRHML - there were
13 posters presented  - a record for one conference I think!. Although I'd
like to let you know about them all :-),
There is one more that I thought might hold some interest for lactnetters

Frequency, volume and fat content of breastfeeds of exclusively breastfed
babies.
KENT JC, CREGAN, MD, MITOULAS RAMSAY AND HARTMANN

This is really great research as it emphasizes the large (normal) variation
in breastfeeding patterns of exclusively demand feeding babies. It also
emphasizes how common night feeds are and also that for these babies night
feeds represent a significant proportion of daily intake.

71 babies, 1-6 months, exclusively breastfed had 24h milk productions, fat
content, and degree of breast fullness measured.

Milk production ranged from 478 - 1298g (mean 798±169g)
Right breast of 72% mothers produced significantly more milk than the left
Average of 11 feeds per day (range 6-18) and took 76±24g/feed
14% of babies always fed from both breasts with less than 30min between
breasts (paired breastfeeds)
27% always fed from one breast (unpaired breastfeed)
Amount taken at the feed depended whether it was paired or unpaired.
(Cluster feeds were also identified (3 breastfeeds, the last 2 within 30min
of the previous breastfeed)
Two thirds of babies fed at night (1000-0400, range 0-3 feeds per night)
During this interval babies had their biggest feed from the more productive
breast and consumed 20% of their total daily intake.
Babies who did not have night feeds had their biggest feed in the morning
(4am to 10am)
Babies took 67% of the available milk at each feed and rarely emptied the
breast 
 A high fat feed did not necessarily result in a long between-feed interval.
The 24h fat intake of babies was not affected by frequency of feeding.
Boys consume more milk than girls

Conclusions
Mothers should be encouraged to respond to their babies cues rather than
strive to be average
In established lactation the data suggests the breast does not need to be
emptied at each feed to maintain lactation.

Cathy Fetherston RM PhD IBCLC
Perth, Western Australia

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