There was a posting a day or so ago stating that Peter Hartmann's research
no longer supported foremilk/hindmilk imbalance.  I'd like to make some
comments about that.  I feel we need to use a better term for the condition
some people use this phrase to describe.  I call it lactose overload - but
am open to better suggestions.

Peter et al's research has trouble defining foremilk and hindmilk as the
only difference between the two is in the fat content, and it gradually
increases in a straight-line continuum as the volume of milk in the breast
decreases.  And the first milk a baby receives at a breastfeed when the
mother's breasts are reasonably empty may actually have MORE fat than the
last milk the baby received at a feed when her breasts were relatively full.

Are the terms foremilk and hindmilk still relevant?  Maybe not.  Is it
easier to tell a mother to continue to breastfeed on one side so that the
baby gets the increasingly fat-rich milk rather than say until baby gets
the hindmilk?

Lactose overload though is definitely a condition which exists and I think
that is what some people are describing when they use the term
foremilk/hindmilk imbalance.

Denise

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Denise Fisher BN, RN, RM, IBCLC
BreastEd Online Lactation Studies
mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www.BreastEdOnline.com

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