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Subject:
From:
Hannah Hunter <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 22 Jan 1998 10:00:30 -0000
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Somebody wrote recently (I'm sorry I didn't note the name):
"the child had gained 2
pounds rapidly after being taken from the home.  Now, this suggests
to me that this child was truly not receiving enough nourishment at
the breast and this child was indeed doing a lot of catch-up growth
(versus simply being force-fed or overfed).  Am I really off-base in
my thinking here?"

I really don't know - I wish I did.  As I understand it: (nearly) every
woman can breastfeed and producing enough milk is simply a matter of good
positioning and frequency of feeds.  This is what I want to believe.  But
then there's those occasionally cases when baby and mum are medically okay,
breast development during pregnancy has been normal, positioning is good,
frequency is good, diet/rest and so on all attended to - yet still weight
gain remains poor - so distressing - so apparently inexplicable.

Something I read recently has certainly made me think more deeply about
this.  The author
(Frank Hytten in "The Clinical Physiology of the Puerperium", Ferrand
Press, London, 1995) is commenting on studies detailing the wide variation
in breast size and composition (presence of fibrous tissue and fat as
opposed to milk producing tissue).  He suggests two reasons:

1.  "...genetic: unlike all other mammals it may never have been necessary
for a woman to produce milk in order that her infant should survive.  There
has always been another lactating woman in the community...who could feed
the infant...and thus any genetic change leading to inadequate mammary
development would not be eliminated..."

2.  "...the long postponement of childbearing after sexual maturity.  The
effect of maternal age on breast development is striking....It would appear
that the changes which are said to occur during the menstrual cycle are not
sufficient to prevent the 'atrophic' effect of advancing age.  The
differences in breast development are reflected in both the quantity and
quality of the milk produced..."  (Yes - I have difficulty with that bit,
too...)

Do genuine cases of milk insufficiency exist?  I would really appreciate
your collective wisdom on this one!

All good wishes
Hannah Hulme Hunter
National childbirth Trust breastfeeding counsellor, UK

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