> This comes from today's Atlanta Constitution newspaper:
>
> "Teenage mothers who breast-feed their infants produce one-fourth less
> milk than do adult mothers, a small study by the Children's Nutrition
> Research Center in Houston suggests...{snip}

Have they found a way to attach a level indicator to a woman's breasts? If
not, how exactly was this measured? I understand the breast is never truely
"empty", in which case, how could it's milk volume be measured?

{snip}...
> Researchers said it's unclear whether teens aren't biologically capable
> of producing enough milk or if other factors, such as nurtrition, are
> involoved. The study also found that teen mothers tend to spend a
> shorter amount of time nursing, nursed less often and quit nursing
> sooner than adult mothers."

I think they answered their own question. We all know that a plentiful
supply of milk requires nursing often and as long as the baby requires - in
fact, it seems to me that most babies will ensure they get enough milk if
they are allowed free access to the breast and allowed to nurse as long as they
wish. It also depends on the *skill* of the mother, to ensure the baby is well
positioned and correctly latched on.

I would point the finger at social and emotional factors, not physical ones.
Surely, in many parts of the world, most first time mothers are teen mothers,
and most of them manage perfectly well to breastfeed their babies.
--
Anna (mummy to Emma, born 17th Jan 1995 and Alice, born 11th Sept 1996)
Web Page: http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna