Lynn
You said this in re Carrie's case of wt loss in a baby:
"The notion that this baby was nursing fine since birth, just not frequently
enough, doesn't jibe with one who has lost this much wt. at 1 wk. There are
many babies who nurse only every 3-5 hrs and gain lots of weight, if feeding
effectively. My guess would be that there was definitely an issue with fdng
effectiveness."
Well, I think the 2 go hand in hand, that is feeding infrequently and
feeding ineffectively, but not necessarily so. I pointed this out to a
client in a consult once. The baby did a good milk transfer, don't remember
the numbers, but the feedings were too infrequent. Let's say, for the sake
of argument, that we have a (small) baby that needs about 16 oz of
breastmilk per 24 hrs, which is 2 oz every 3 hrs [2x8fdgs=16]. If the baby
is taking the 2 oz, but only every 4 hrs, this would be only 12oz
[2x6fdgs=12oz]. This is an intake of only 75% of the necessary intake, so
the baby is getting shortchanged 25% of his intake. This can have a
substantial impact on wt. gain. I think some babies do gain on every 3-5 hr
feedings, but I think they are few and far between (rare) and not seen in
the newborn period. IMHO. Good discussion going here.

Laurie Wheeler, IBCLC, MN, RN
Violet Louisiana, s.e. USA


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