I was discussing with a colleague this morning the subject of
breastfeeding twins. A close friend of hers has 4 mos old twins. They went
to the ped and he indicated they had not gained any weight...not lost any
either . He of course recommended that she supplement with formula but the
babies are too smart for that and are refusing.  My colleague read in a text
that the fat content of breastmilk can be low although it did not state what
could cause this. We were speculating that the author is suggesting that the
maternal diet could lower the fat content in bm.  However, I have always
thought that while maternal diet could influence fat composition it did not
effect quantity of fat in the milk. This woman who is bf twins recently put
herself on a very low-fat diet and we are wondering if this could have
lowered the caloric content of her breastmilk.  She is a very lean woman who
has very little fat in reserve.  Could there be something here in terms of
her ability to mobilize body fat to meet the fat requirements of her
breastmilk...ie, she is not mobilizing fat quickly enough for twins. She did
breastfeed her first child without any problems. I am also suspicious about
her ped pushing the panic button too soon. I know that breastfed babies grow
differently than formula-fed and the growht charts used are based on
formula-fed. If the babies didn't lose weight, is it reason to assume they
are not getting enough calories?  They go back to the ped next week for a
weight check. My colleague recommended that the mom increase her fat and
calorie intake...it certainly wouldn't hurt her and could help. I would like
to know more about how fat content can be low in bm, is this a result of
maternal diet. Also I know very little about breastfeeding twins...could
someone recommend a good resource.  TIA

-laura
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Laura Aldag, M.S.,R.D.
Assistant in Extension

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed its the only thing that has"   Margaret Mead