Hm...good question!

Impossible to answer, too, until we have some good studies on what happens
when a basically well-nourished (in terms of calories, at least) population
breastfeeds ad lib from birth, when there are no separations between
healthy mothers and babies and no pressure to restrict feeds.

But here (and I hope UK colleagues will chip in) I can say I do see mothers
who are troubled by what they feel is oversupply - breasts leaking and
full. I also see babies who appear to be overwhelmed by a whoosh of a
letdown.

But these issues are almost always *transitory * and respond to *very
simple* measures which support the breastfeeding, and tune in more closely
to what the baby really prefers (for example, the baby may be more
comfortable if 'allowed' to feed one side only, instead of the mother
feeling she 'has' to feed both sides, no matter what the baby seems to
prefer).

I see the occasional mother who is so troubled by this she stops
breastfeeding, as she gets sick of always having a wet patch on her
tee-shirt soaking through breastpads, and feels big and cumbersome. I
actually don't know if this is because she is making 'too much' milk or
just that she leaks a lot - this seems to be a very variable physiological
trait. I suspect it's just she leaks a lot.  I am pretty sure there are
hugely variable degrees of tolerance among mothers - what feels normal and
ok to one is intolerable to another.

The first time I heard a lot about oversupply causing *long-lasting*
problems in mothers and babies was on Lactnet!  But that doesn't mean I
don't think it exists - it may  do, and because we don't talk about it much
here,  we just don't 'see' it. I would be very interested to hear other
views.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle Upon Tyne UK

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