Magda - thank you for asking the question about sodium content of
breastmilk.  I think I know where you're going with this!

Cathy - thank you so much for giving such a detailed response, showing
quantities of sodium at different times, and showing that the sodium content
can be expected to reduce over time.

Now I have a question.  Could these values be used to identify delayed
lactogenesis?  For instance, you state that at 3 days the sodium content is
17.9 +/- 4.5 mmol/l (411 +/- 4mg/l), and at 7-9 days it is 14.1 +/- 4.9
mmol/l (324 +/- 113mg/l).  What if at 7 days the sodium content was still as
high as it usually is at 3 days?  Assuming that the breast was well-drained
and soft, could this indicate the possibility of retained placenta?  Or if
the breast was *not* well drained (perhaps moderately engorged) would it
merely be one more way we could identify that a baby was not breastfeeding
effectively?

I would *so* love to know of an easy, and measurable way to pinpoint slow or
delayed lactogenesis II - could this be it??

Pamela Morrison IBCLC, Zimbabwe
email:[log in to unmask]

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