I have found several articles on milk supply particularly helpful when
discussing the topic with professionals and mothers. The research on this
topic done is Australia is fascinating. Three articles LCs may find useful
if they haven't read them, or haven't read them recently:

JHL 11(1), 1995 pp 21-26 "Infant Demand and Milk Supply, Part 1: Infant
Demand and Milk Production in Lactating Women," Daly, Steven and Peter E.
Hartmann.

JHL 11(1), 1995 pp 27-37 "... Part 2: The Short-Term Control of Milk
Synthesis in Lactating Women."

"Infant Regulation of Breastmilk Intakes and the Effects on Milk Supply and
Composition," Sandra Purnell and Ken Purnell (Nursing Mothers' Association
of Australia Lactation Resource Centre Topic in Breastfeeding Set VII,
October 1995.

The storage capacity of various mothers' breasts is discussed, which I found
very interesting, since I've known women who had lovely, healthy babies who
nursed less often than I'd been led to believe was necessary. Here's an
interesting paragraph from Part 2 of the JHL articles. I think the last
sentence is the most important, and I'd encourage everyone to read both
articles before using the information so they have a total picture of the
research and conclusions:

"Newton and Newton recognized that if a mother's potential for storage of
milk was low, high milk production would still be possible if feeding was
more frequent. Indeed, our observations suggest that storage capacity may be
of importance in determining how the infant's demand for milk is met by the
mother. One of our subjects produced approximately 900 mL/24 h of milk, but
she was small-breasted and had a small storage capacity for her right and
left breasts of 111 and 81 mL, respectively. Thus, the maximum amount ofmik
that this woman appeared to be able to store was approximately 20 percent of
her infant's 24 h milk intake. From her breast volume changes over time it
appears that her infant met his demand for milk by breastfeeding more
frequently (each breast offered approx. eight times per 24h; ...). In
contrast, another subject, who produced a similar volume of milk per 24 h,
was a larger-breasted woman with large storage capacities for her right and
left breasts of approx. 600 and 180 mL, respectively, allowing her to store
nearly 90 percent of her infant's 24 h intake. This subject's infant
consumed larger volumes of milk at fewer and more variably spaced
breastfeeds (each breast offered four or five times per 24 h...). Therefore,
mothers with a greater storage capacity may have more flexibility with
regard to their patterns of breastfeeding."

Leslie Ayre-Jaschke, BEd, IBCLC
Peace River, Alberta, Canada