Anybody want to post a response to this very intellegent question?
Rachael Hamlet
In alt.support.breastfeeding, [log in to unmask] (Ken Robbins) wrote:
>Hi. This is Debbie, using Ken's account.
>Two women I know have each had their pediatricians (two different doctors)
>tell them that their breastmilk was inadequate for their babies.
>One of the babies was just a few weeks old, and the mother was told by the
>pediatrician that her baby was fussy because she (the mother) didn't have
>enough fat in her diet. She was told to add fat to her diet, but at least
>the doctor didn't tell her to stop breastfeeding, or anything like that.
>This seemed weird to me, because I was on an almost no fat diet for the
>first few months of my son's life (for medical reasons), and we had no
>problems like this. Maybe I had plenty of body fat for my milk production
>to draw on for a supply, and so I didn't need any in my diet :-)
>The other baby was 6 months old, and near the bottom of the height and
>weight charts for her age. (Both parents are smallish.) She was told
>to stop breastfeeding and switch to formula (the baby seems satisfied after
>feedings, and eats a bit of cereal and other baby foods in addition to
>breastfeeding). This was the first time the pediatrician had met this
>mother and baby.
>I have a few questions. First, is this kind of thing (where the doctor
>labels the mother's milk "inadequate" in terms of quality, not quantity)
>common? Second, is the doctor usually right, or does a second or third
>opinion produce a different diagnosis? Third, do the doctors ever send
>a sample of the breastmilk out for analysis (percent fat, iron, calcium,
>whatever) before reaching this kind of conclusion?
>This whole thing just seemed strange to me, and I was wondering if
>anyone out there has some net-wisdom that might provide some answers.
>Thanks for any info you can provide!
>Debbie
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