Many of us in the US remember the article in the Wall Street Journal a couple
of years ago entitled, "Dying for Milk." It detailed the tragic results of a
couple of babies whose mothers supposedly had insufficient milk. In the story
was the statement about 5% of the maternal population being unable to produce
sufficient milk. This figure comes from a lactation clinic that receives only
problems. These are a referred group of women, not the general population.
When we look at other data world wide we see that the estimated number is
probably less than 1%. Michael Woolridge has data on this from his clinics in
the UK. I traced back this 5% number to a 1932 article that was an estimate
from a physician who was offering a best guess, not actual research. I often
wonder how long the earth would have continued to be populated if 5% of its
infants each year were unable to receive enough milk starting when humans
first appeared!

Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA

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