The missing part of this is that biologically, newborns were meant to be
nursed several times an hour for very brief feedings. By encouraging large
feeds we are causing the problem.
Note Kathy Dettwylers comments at
http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/detfreq.html
Below are just a couple of paragraphs from the article.
Frequency of Nursing in Other Species
by Katherine Dettwyler, PhD
"Continuous contact species have milk that is low in protein and fat and
high in carbohydrates. The offspring tend to nurse very often, but not take
much at any one nursing. The low protein and fat content of the milk make it
quick and easy to digest, and the baby is quickly hungry again, but mom is
right there, so it just nurses again. I have seen figures of 20 minutes as
the length of time it takes a breast milk meal to clear the stomach. Chimp
and gorilla babies nurse several times an hour during the day, and sleep
with their mothers at night, so presumably nurse at night also.
From the composition of human milk, it is clear that human babies are
designed to nurse several times an hour, around the clock. The study of the
nursing patterns among the !Kung you were referring to, where the children
nurse several times an hour for a few minutes each time, is by Melvin Konner
and Carol Worthman. The !Kung do live where it is hot and dry (Bostwana and
Namibia), however, frequent nursing increases the fat content of the milk,
rather than the water content, so it isn't at all clear that the frequent
nursing had to do with preventing dehydration. Michael Woolridge suggested
this to me once, when we were working on his chapter for the book, but there
isn't any evidence of it. There is another study of the Gainj people of
Papua New Guinea showing that the children there nurse multiple times an
hour, around the clock, also, and it is hot and humid there, though not as
hot as the desert where the !Kung live. Interesting, among the Gainj, the
children do not slow down or taper off the frequency of their nursing as
they get older. I don't have the article here in front of me, but the
figures for nursing frequency are basically unchanged up through the third
year. "
Patty Spanjer, IBCLC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Keith-Hergert" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2004 2:17 PM
Subject: Re: spitting up
> In my work as a postpartum doula, I have noticed that about half an hour
> after a feeding babies often start crying and seeming really upset even
> though they seemed to have had a good feeding. Then they fall asleep and
> stay asleep until the next feeding. This seems to be something babies do,
> they get over tired or they don't know how to put themselves to sleep
> without crying and being fussy for a few minutes first. Some mothers doubt
> their milk supply at this point and put the baby back to breast only to
> have
> him take a couple of sucks and fall asleep, then she spends some time
> trying
> to get him to eat more so she can get a break. I think many babies that
are
> gaining rapidly and spit up frequently are overfed and put back on the
> breast when they are full, when they really just want to be carried til
> they
> fall asleep. You can usually tell by their behavior when you do offer them
> the breast again, eventually you see the pattern.
> Vicky York, IBCLC, CPD
> Postpartum doula
>
>
> Hi Vicky,
>
> Nice to hear from another LC/ PP Doula crossover. Amazing what you can
> learn in a three or four hour stay at the client's home, versus just
> observing a feed, huh? I see what you are describing all the time. It's a
> matter of mom not reading cues well yet. Usually baby needs burping and
> swaddling. If mom thinks babe needs more to eat... she sets up a pattern
of
> over-feeding, crying and spitting.
>
> The good news is that this is easy for a PP doula to correct, by example!
>
> Susan Keith-Hergert
> Holistic Natal Care
> Cincinnati
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This message, including any attachments, is for
the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and
privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or
distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please
contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original
message.
>
> ***********************************************
>
> 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
>
***********************************************
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
|
