I have been trying very hard to cut back on the amount of formula is given to
babies in our hospital in the first 3 days of life.  Our LC dept. has been
working with staff on when to supplement and how much (which is to be 10-15
cc on the first day and up to 30 cc after that) but this is not followed well
especially at night.
I have read and researched on what is the normal physiological need of the
newborn on day 1, 2, 3 ect.  I have also found that there is no formal
instructions on how to bottle feed nor the amounts in the first few days.
I asked our dietitian and all she could come up with was a comparison of
formula to mature breast milk and cow's milk, and the calories needed for an
infant after day 3 of life.  So far I have received feedback that babies fed
formula are fed ad lib amounts on a set schedule.
My goal is to try and standardize the amounts a newborn baby should get so
the staff does not see formula feeding as the norm.
What I am looking for is the comparison of colostrum to formula.  It is
documented that only a few drops of colostrum can stabilize a newborns blood
sugars but how much formula would do the same?
Any information on this would be appreciated.  I think many of us dealing
with decades of misinformation and poor health care education to tackle
before we can make any head way to the public's lack of knowledge about
breastfeeding.
Ann Perry RN IBCLC
Boston, MA

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

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(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html