Linda Smith and several others posted me privately to ask for the reference
to the post I sent some weeks ago on neonatal weight loss.

The reference is : The influence of perinatal instruction about
breastfeeding on neonatal weight loss. Pediatrics, 1990, 86(2):313.  I
xeroxed the title page to bring home so I could reference the specifics, but
for some reason, author's name isn;t on this page -- maybe its one of those
brief report deals and lists author at the end.  Anyway, you should all be
able to access the article with the other info.

Briefly, abstract says:  "It is normal for newborn babies to lose weight
during the first days of life.  Although much of this weight loss is thought
to be due to changes in the volume and distribution of water in the body, it
is clear that feeding practices also influence the degree of weight loss.

In North America, breast-fed babies lose 6.9% of their birth weight before
beginning to gain weight (they cite a ref here for this fig.)  Bottle-fed
American babies, on the other hand, lose only about 4.2%.  (another
footnote) In Lesotho, breast-fed babies lose just 3% of their birthweight
(footnote).  These findings prompted questions about the factors that
influence the degree of neonatal weight loss.  In a recent study in Zaire
during which babies lost a mean of 7% of their birth weight, the degree of
loss was found to be correlated directly with the age at which the child was
first breast-fed.

Factors related both to maternal beliefs and to structures of the health
care system can cause relative delays in the initiation of breastfeeding..."

 Don't we know it!!

Having watched my own and other healthy, home birthed babies never lose any
weight, but just shoot up with early, unrestricted feeds, it is always a red
flag for me to see a newborn losing more than 7-8%, or take more than just a
little while to recover birthweight.  I watch those moms and babies very
closely.  There are many factors which may be involved, and many of them are
transient and not difficult to overcome -- sometimes even with encouragement
alone.  However, failure to accurately assess and to step in with some
assistance when called for puts the baby, the milk supply, and the lactation
at risk.
Barbara

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC
Private Practice, Austin, Texas
Owner, Lactnews On-Line Conference Page
http://moontower.com/bwc/lactnews.html