I agree with your concern about an implied upper limit with the way these recommendations are usually stated. A better way to put it might be "wt gain should be *in the range of* 4-8 oz/week" and similarly with the number of nursings. If only the rock-bottom minimum number was stated, though, I fear that people would start aiming for those numbers and feeling (even more) uncomfortable with higher ones. A mom whose baby nurses 14 times might think, gee, my baby is nursing *almost twice as often* as recommended -- not realizing/remembering that the number 8 is a minimum. I actually thought the AAP statement said *at least* 8 to 12 times in 24 hours . . . but just double checked, and indeed, it simply says "mothers should be encouraged to have 8 to 12 feedings at the breast." I do talk with many mothers whose babies feed much more frequently than this, and some do think they're doing something wrong. Clearer wording would help. Semantically yours, Margaret Longmont, CO >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