In the absence of any real studies, it seems to me that it is probable that
yes, enough women breastfed successfully enough through many bad
circumstances to allow for the continuation of our species. I don't think
that from there we can extrapolate that it is a "myth" of some kind that
stress causes women's milk to decrease.  Malnutrition does eventually impact
a mother's milk supply - the baby may survive, but at what cost?  It may
also be linked to what the mother is used to. The woman's body is designed
so that the production of milk expends as few calories as possible - it is a
very efficient process.  If a mother's body has constantly been under
stress, it may be that the process becomes even more efficient. However,
there is always a breaking point.  Some mothers that were super-producers,
even under very stressful conditions may have made it possible for the
babies of those who could not produce enough under those same conditions to
survive.  There are bound to be large individual variations under the bell
curve.

I remember when I first got involved with lactation hearing over and over
that lack of sleep or food or stress did not impact breastfeeding. Yet I
knew that for me, there was a definite sleep threshold (granted it was
pretty high as I had a very high-need, non-sleeping baby), that once I
crossed it, my milk supply would drop pretty rapidly until I got several
hours of uninterrupted sleep.  It was very real. So I always tried to keep
an open mind when a mom cited such things as stressors on her milk supply. I
have also seen moms boost their supplies by adding a bunch of calories to
their diets. What we do need to conteract is the belief that conditions must
be "perfect" in order for breastfeeding to succeed.

Until some kind of study is devised, we will continue to rely on anectodal
information which, although interesting, is difficult to hang any particular
hat on - or conversely, can accomodate all hats.

Warmly,
Sharon Knorr, NY, USA






On 7/14/08, Karleen Gribble <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Yes, this is true but it is also very commonly believed that a mothers milk
> will dry up in response to stress or if food has been restricted. Both these
> circumstances are common in emergencies and while some women continue to
> breastfeed throughout, many do not...the consequences are serious.
> Karleen Gribble
> Australia
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Arly" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 12:47 AM
> Subject: malnutrition and stress
>
>
> First, I want to underscore Nikki Lee's important point:  women have
>> breastfed successfully throughout millenia of stress of all kinds.
>>
>> Second, malnutrition and stress can occur together, but are two separate
>> variables.
>>
>
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