Judy - Just thought I would add my personal experience.  My last baby
     was high birthweight (10#, 2oz) (OUCH!  I'm not a big person!)

     In the hospital the nurses were all over me to supplement him with
     formula and, having successfully breastfed my first for 2 years, NO
     WAY!  I found it humerous that it was the nurses and not the peds!
     One nurse kept saying that I needed to for his blood sugar and another
     said I needed to because I would never produce enough milk for such a
     big baby (give me a break!!!!)....   I'd like to bring his big old 25
     lb, exclusively breastfed body to him and show her how ludicrous her
     statement was!!!  What makes me so mad about the whole thing is that I
     am very educated about lactation.  I bet this stuff actually works on
     moms who aren't!!!!

     Wendy Funk, in freezing cold Northern Va.  Sigh!


m:    Judy Holtzer Knopf <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: question about high BW neonates


Recently, I have heard from several women who delivered babies weighing
4000 g or more, and were told that they must supplement breastfeeding
with formula. Some were told that they should do this because their
babies were "big" and "needed more food than the mothers had". Last
night, I spoke with a mom pIII who had breastfed the older 2 for over a
year each, who apparently asked more questions when told to supplement
her 4200 g newborn. She was vague about what she was told, but it had
something to do with possible gestational diabetes and controlling the
baby's sugar intake. It sounded weird and without foundation to me, since I
know that they do NOT test content of mother's milk here. I do NOT know
and the moms did not know if the babies were hypoglycemic.
Opinions, please? Should I be aware of some research? Reference, please?

TIA to everyone and anyone with an answer to this annoying intervention.

Judy Knopf in Beer Sheva

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