I share Magda's concern about extrapolating Jan's quite-clearly successful
use of  weighing before and after feeds to other, similar situations.

Jan felt this mother was helped by seeing the weight go up after a feed -
but in other situations, the weight might not have gone up very much at
all, by pure chance. This would not necessarily reflect anything about the
feed, or the milk supply in general - especially in a baby where all the
other signs clearly indicate he or she is thriving.

For mothers, learning to bf, and to trust in it,  and to make the most of
this wonderful relationship between mother and baby,   comes from
observing a whole range of behaviours and responses. This is empowering,
IMHO - and mothers may need help and support  to look beyond their baby's
weight and growth to get to this stage. Just because the 'weight is okay'
does not always mean the 'bf is okay' .  Conversely, the weight may not be
'textbook', but the bf (and the baby) may be fine.

However, Jan assessed her client as needing this formal confirmation of her
baby's progress on breastmilk, and she went home somewhat happier - so it
worked. Great!

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK