In a message dated 98-06-14 09:48:34 EDT, you write:

<< SInce milk alcohol levels mirror blood alcohol levels, wouldn't adding
 etoh to EBM produce the same results as giving the etoh directly to the
 mothers? >>

The next logical question, then is:  are blood alchol levels accurately
reperesented by pouring liquor into expressed breast milk?  I am not a biology
expert (nor do I play one on Lactnet) but it would seem to me --purely based
on common sense--that there is a diffusion of alcohol when it is "filtered" by
the body system, before showing up in breastmilk.  The anaolgy that would fit
would be to open the milk ducts and pour the alcohol in, and it just doesn't
seem that there could be as great a concentration (as putting it directly into
bottles) otherwise.  i guess the question becomes how much alcohol was added,
and did that amount equal the amount of actual alcohol a child is likely to
get through breastmilk.  I know the journal is a good one and probably these
concerns were all dealt with in the research; otherwise, the researchers'
peers would immediately leap upon the validity of the project's results (as
peer judges in research are wont to do.)

I am sure one of the biochemists out there can explain this better!  I for one
am a little confused.

Mailto:[log in to unmask]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joy Berry-Parks
LLL, Central Arkansas
Attachment Parenting Group of AR
Anthropology Apprentice
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Childhood Decides."---Jean Paul Sartre
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~