Dear Lactnet Friends:
All humans have variations in their appetites. Women of childbearing age
often have an increase in appetite in the week before their menses start.
Probably all of us can remember a day when that little toddler ate double
the amount that we ate in a day.
Our appetite varies with our age, the season and a host of other factors.
As babies are little humans, they have variations in their appetites too.
This is what I teach.
The evidence is behind this concept too.
"Acta Paediatr. 1999 Feb;88(2):203-11.
Breastfeeding patterns in exclusively breastfed infants: a longitudinal
prospective study in Uppsala, Sweden.
Hörnell A1, Aarts C, Kylberg E, Hofvander Y, Gebre-Medhin M.
Author information
Abstract
Exclusive breastfeeding was studied among 506 infants in Uppsala, Sweden,
based on daily recordings during the first 6 mo. The mothers had previously
breastfed at least one infant for at least 4 mo. Most of the mothers
considered that they breastfed on demand. Wide variations in breastfeeding
frequency and suckling duration were found both between different infants
and in the individual infant over time.
At 2 wk, the mean frequency of daytime feeds (based on one 13-d record)
between different infants ranged from 2.9 to 10.8 and night-time feeds from
1.0 to 5.1. The daytime suckling duration (based on one 24-h record) ranged
from 20 min to 4h 35 min and night-time duration from 0 to 2h 8 min. At any
given age, a maximum of only 2% of the infants were not breastfed during
the night. At 4 mo, 95% of the infants were breastfeeding and 40% were
exclusively breastfed at this age. Longer breastfeeding duration and longer
duration of exclusive breastfeeding were both associated with higher
frequency of breastfeeds, longer breastfeeding of the previous child and
higher education. No gender differences were found. Maternal smoking was
associated with shorter duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and pacifier
use was associated with shorter duration of both exclusive breastfeeding
and total breastfeeding."
This study confirms that every mother-infant pair needs to be understood as
a unique dyad throughout lactation. These data demonstrate a wide range of
patterns among women who are exclusively breastfeeding and indicate that it
would be inappropriate to put pressure on individual families to adopt
preconceived patterns of infant feeding.
Back in the 80s and 90s, I, like many others, taught about "growth spurts"
and told moms that these spurts occurred at precise times. 10-14 days, 3
weeks, 6 weeks. Fortunately, we all learn as we mature and can give advice
that is relevant and useful.
warmly,
--
Nikki Lee RN, BSN, Mother of 2, MS, IBCLC, CCE, CIMI, ANLC, CKC
Author:* Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Breastfeeding Therapy*
www.nikkileehealth.com
https://www.facebook.com/nikkileehealth
*Get my FREE webinar series*
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