Susan in MN asks 'Is it true that sugar water can overload the pancreas? How much sugar water? Will 5 ml 3x a day create a problem for a baby?' Of course this sparked my curiosity, because I can't picture the situation in which you would know that a baby was going to get 5 ml of sugar water three times a day, and I have even more difficulty imagining the situation in which it would be needed. I'm guessing from the post that the work setting is a maternity unit so we are considering newborns, with their stomach capacity of not much more than those 5 ml, but that's just my guess. Yes, it could cause a number of problems, though I would not venture to get as highfalutin' as an endocrinological analysis of effects on the pancreas. It would suppress a newborn's urge to suckle at the breast, possibly compromising the start of breastfeeding, which is why we stopped routinely giving sugar water in the first place. Depending on how concentrated the solution is, even 5 ml might make baby nauseated, another barrier to frequent suckling. Galloping thrush in baby and on mother's nipples can result from providing yeast fertilizer this way, and that can turn into premature weaning before you know it. Caries, if the practice were to continue during dentition. A weird reliance on a substance that provides only calories, free of any redeeming nutritional value and notably not required for humans, as it is entirely inadequate as a replacement for food in this species. And of course all the things Nina B mentioned in her post. What is the context for this question? Rachel Myr Kristiansand, Norway *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome