I spoke on infant stomach capacity at the ILCA conference this past summer and had shown that the stomach capacity at term is about 9-10ml. The capacity was calculated from ultrasound measurements of the fetus at term. This increases rapidly over the first few days following birth. The new belly balls from Ameda are much closer to actual capacity, although we all know that babies can be compelled to consume more than their physiologic capacity when they are incorrectly supplemented with bottles of formula during the early days. In terms of visual aids for stomach capacity, I calculated the capacity of a marble at 2.1ml, a shooter marble at 8.2ml?(a?possible day 1 feed volume), a ping pong ball at 26.ml (a typical day 2 feed volume), and a walnut at 9-11ml (a day 1 feed volume). The feed volumes are also dependent on the size of the baby. Another visual aid for stomach capacity is the size of the baby's fist. I see many nurses in the hospital trying to stuff a day two volume of formula down a day one size stomach. Some hospitals are up to a 50% supplementation rate for breastfed babies because of a lack of understanding of the perfect match between colostrum availability and infant stomach capacity.

Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA








________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com

             ***********************************************

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