>I have another question resulting from reading Hartmann et al.
>It was found that milk production remained constant over the first six
>months of the child's life. Does this mean that milk consumption remained
>the same? What does this mean for the concept of growth spurts and
>increasing supply thereto.
>Karleen Gribble
>Australia

Karleen, this was my very first question when I first heard Peter
Hartmann talk about this at a seminar. He said that he didn't really
understand what was happening at 'growth spurts' or as we prefer to
call them 'appetite increases', as he hadn't really looked
specifically at this. However, the scientific evidence showed that
the intake of breastmilk was constant for any single baby between one
and six months (ie *may* be less before one month - but that wasn't
measured). This observation was incidental to the study as it was
actually looking at the correlation of prolactin levels with supply -
the prolactin levels dropped but the supply stayed the same.

I have thought about this and have concluded by simple logic (ie no
proof ;-) that perhaps what is happening is that the baby temporarily
increases his intake over a few days and then goes back to the
original amount. The increased demand does not last long enough to
actually raise the supply - this only happens with a more long-term
and persistent increase in demand. So I liken this to a teenager who
suddenly eats 'everything' in the pantry and fridge, and just when
you stock up for the increased demand, he goes back to normal eating
for a while!

I think this piece of information about the constancy of supply is
very significant for mothers expressing their milk for their babies,
eg while at work. There is the common expectation that they have to
keep increasing he amount they express to keep up with their babies'
increasing appetites. This shouldn't happen. Maybe the expectations
of the carers are that the amount the child should eat increases and
they are offered more and more over time.

Joy
******************************************************************
Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC
Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia breastfeeding counsellor
Perth, Western Australia.   mailto:[log in to unmask]
******************************************************************

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