In a message dated 6/25/00 12:47:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<<
 I find that when babies sleep all day and then naturally cluster- feed at
 night, the Moms in the hospital will send the baby to the Nursery (usually
 for a bottle feeding) so they can get some sleep.  It is much less
 objectionable, IMHO, to attempt to wake and feed every 2-3 hours during the
 day. >>
I totally agree.  We in hospital need to deal with the realities of tired
moms, over-helpful nurses, babies who cluster feed at night, etc.  Some women
are knowledgeable, but we must never assume a mother knows more than she
does.  Many mothers have no idea what normal frequency is.  I often tell them
that I spent a summer in Haiti where babies were all breastfed, there was no
medication for labor, there were no nurseries, and no cribs either.  Those
babies nursed 12-18 times in the first 24 hours and mom's milk was in in 24
to 36 hours, not 3-5 days like here.  Our babies have problems and end up
supplemented when we do not get them feeding.  If they will not feed, then
having mom pump and cup feed colostrum has been beneficial to building a milk
supply as well as waking the baby.  So many times I have a sleepy baby, 24
hours old, no feeds.  We pump, cup feed colostrum, and Voila!  He wakes up
for a feeding an hour or so later.

What I meant to add to my previous post is that we emphasize to moms that
timing is only a guideline.  When babies are voiding, stooling, and show
weight gain, I tell moms to forget the clock and nurse the baby.

By the way,  we often talk about the sleepy baby after a medicated delivery.
Do we have any data looking at labor medication and milk production?  Is
there any evidence that it affects timing?

Thanks to all for a great discussion,
Judi Hall, RNC, IBCLC

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