At 2:02 PM -0800 6/2/06, Ellen Steinberg wrote: >Joy writes: Milk volumes in the Hartmann labs use the method they have >developed >and used for many years now where they weigh the mothers (not the >babies - found to be more accurate) plus do volume calculations on >the breast using a computer, video camera and stripes projected >across the breast. They have written it up as a 'computerized breast >measurement' system and it is very accurate. > >Joy, I think then that the answer to my question about whether these >researchers were measuring mom's production capability or baby's actual >consumption is that they were more closely measuring mom's production >capability. No, Ellen, I think you have misinterpreted what they found from what I wrote. They measured *exactly* how much milk the baby took from the mothers over 24 hours, by test-weighing the mother. They go into the home and set up their equipment and are with the mother for every feed, top-up, every time the baby's lips meet the breast, day and night for 24 hours. > I do not doubt the accuracy of these measurements, especially >since they have been corroborated by several studies. And I also accept >that milk production capability remains relatively constant from 1-6 months. No, capability is *much* greater than what the mothers are producing for one baby. They measured the baby's appetite, not the mother's capability. Apologies if this wasn't clear in my earlier post. > >What I am still left wondering is whether babies who are larger eat more. This I don't know for sure, but don't think so. What they have found in the Hartmann studies is that each baby has his own individual relatively constant volume of intake - ranging from less than 500 ml per 24 hours to over 1000 ml. I am fairly certain that there was no correlation with anything obvious, such as baby's size, feeding pattern, mother's storage capacity, etc. It seemed 'random'. Joy -- ****************************************************************** Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC Australian Breastfeeding Association counsellor Perth, Western Australia. mailto:[log in to unmask] ****************************************************************** *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html