On 09/12/2006, at 19:48, Renee Drake wrote: > In a message dated 12/8/2006 7:22:23 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, > [log in to unmask] writes: > >> Given the active bactericidal qualities of >> fresh milk, I felt comfortable that a small inoculum of my son's own >> mouth bacteria would not cause the milk to rapidly become harmful > > ************************************* > > The issue isn't necessarily the bacteria growth in the left over > milk. The > saliva is the first (and actually a very powerful) step in > digestion. Saliva > begins to digest starches and carbohydrates and sugars and does so > quite > quickly. I don't believe that human milk contains starches. > I haven't been able to look into any evidence-based examples, > however it is > my BELIEF that within a very short amount of time, the leftover > milk would > have started to be digested by the time it was refed. (the idea > of that is > sooo GROSS to me). This is the same reason we no longer advise > moms to feed > baby directly from the baby food jar and then save what hasn't > been used. Experience has shown that drawing analogies between dead infant foods and live human milk, and making assumptions based on these false analogies, is not an approach likely to lead to accurate conclusions. I also try not to base infant feeding advice on subjective "grossness" - this seems to me a slippery slope, and also one on which many anti-breastfeeding practices are based. You have offered your sensory experience that cornstarch-filler- laden, culture-medium commercial baby foods appear different after exposure to saliva over time. I'm happy to offer my sensory experience of breastmilk saved for several hours after a bottle-feed: no change. No change in appearance, smell, or taste. I hope that one day there might also be biochemical analyses of such milk - if anyone has seen any, it would be great if they could be shared. I've not seen any evidence suggesting that re-offering fresh milk for a short period is harmful. The alternative (for most women not blessed with an oversupply or plentiful donor milk) is usually artificial baby milk, a substance known to carry significant risks. I believe that if health practitioners are going to advise a practice likely to lead to an increase in artificial feeding, we need an _extremely_ solid evidence base; and there is no evidence at all to suggest that re-offering milk for several hours is harmful. Lara Hopkins *********************************************** 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 email list is powered by LISTSERV (R). There is only one LISTSERV. To learn more, visit: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html