Dear Friends:
    Anne Montgomery MD, IBCLC (a LACTNET friend) and a medical student named
Heather Perry, have published a nice  abstract in the latest issue of ABM
News and Views newletter. (URL: www.bfmed.org)
    Labor and delivery records of 85 mothers and babies were analyzed.
Babies whose mothers received epidurals weighed an average of about 250 grams
more than babies whose mothers did not receive epidurals. These babies can
also be expected to loose more weight in the early days.
    Now isn't this fascinating? When you add that to the evidence that babies
whose mothers use epidurals take longer (on the average) to learn to
breastfeed, this half-pound difference becomes a big deal.
    Please, somebody replicate this with a larger sample and publish the
results! And look at those long inductions too, where moms can receive a
gallon or more of IV fluid over a few days.
    Warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MSN, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CIMI
craniosacral therapy practitioner; childbirth educator
Elkins Park (a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; northeastern USA)
supporter of the WHO Code and the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative

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