Good topic, Diane!
>Peter Hartman's work, as I understand it, shows that the ordinary healthy baby doesn't
>increase his intake significantly after... well, certainly after 4-6
>weeks or so
>
>What are we to make of these old "so many units of milk per unit of baby =
>weight" charts now? When are they useful for the breastfed or =
>breastmilk-fed baby, and when are they archaic?
>
>
>
>
Heck, there was an article back in 1984 that said the same thing, so I
haven't believed those charts in years! (Butte et al., J Pediatr
104:187-94, 1984) I've got the same charts above my desk, and I refer
to them if I'm giving guidelines about a baby in the first few weeks of
life only. I figure if we're trying to give target amounts for a
non-latching baby at discharge, baby should be taking somewhere in the
vicinity of what the charts say by the end of the first week of life.
If I see a baby who's a month or more old and (for example) not gaining,
I figure they need about 24 oz./day for normal weight gain, more for
catch-up growth, and start there and see what happens. It's all fairly
vague, isn't it? Anyway, that's how I use the (definitely) archaic charts.
Becky Krumwiede, RN, IBCLC
Appleton, Wisconsin
***********************************************
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
|