Mon, 23 May 2005 08:45:58 -0400
|
I just have a comment/question about some of the commonly-heard guidelines
or standards for breastfeeding. Why do we say things like "weight gain
should be 4 to 8 ounces a week?" What if the baby gains 8.5 ounces or 9
ounces or 12 ounces in a week? Is that a problem? I've certainly seen
healthy, normal babies gaining at that rate. And I've also heard of doctors
telling mothers that their exclusively-breastfed babies were gaining too
fast because they were over the expected "8 ounces per week" and that they
needed to restrict feedings to keep the weight gain down. I know this is not
good. So why don't we just say "at least 4 ounces per week?"
(I supposed we could, if we wanted, add something like "the average weight
gain is 7 or 8 ounces per week" if that's what it is.)
Another example - the statement that breastfed babies should nurse 8 to 12
times in 24 hours. I recently had a call from a mother whose doctor told her
she had to supplement because her baby nursed 14 times in 24 hours and that
meant she didn't have enough milk. He actually showed her these guidelines.
Is anyone on this list concerned about a baby who nurses 14 times a day? 20
times a day? 35 times a day? We know that short frequent feedings are the
norm in tribal societies. So why don't we make this guideline say "at least
8 times a day?"
Having these ranges suggests an upper limit when I don't believe the
evidence supports that upper limit. Anyone else have thoughts on this?
Teresa Pitman
***********************************************
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
|
|