>In the depths of Lawrence I read that there is a chemical in the fatty
>component of milk (must go and look this up, I apologise for my
>vagueness) that accumulates over the course of the feed, sending off
>satiation signals to the brain when the baby is full, so he then comes
>off the breast.

I remember reading about a study that put tubes into breastfeeding babies'
mouths to monitor the milk throughout the feed to see, for one thing, why
they came off the breast. The conclusion was that it was the satiety
offered by the higher fat content of the milk from, what we now know is,
the emptier breast.

When the fat is all mixed up the infant has to feed until his stomach is
uncomfortable full, not when he feels satisfied. I compare it to a salad
with lemon juice as opposed to one with an oil dressing.

Also if he feeds too fast his appestat doesn't have time to register "my
stomach is full." I find that a baby who is using a truly slow nipple  will
be satisfied with a regular pumping amount, even though he doesn't have
that breastfed-baby, satisfied look. Whereas a baby with a fast flow nipple
will take up to 2 ounces more before he stops.

I have wondered what would happen to infants who overfeed with a bottle if
the mother made a high-fat bottle with some pumped milk that she had
skimmed off some refrigerated milk after separation. Then after feeding the
bottle of mixed milk, she gave him the high fat one, would he reach this
satiety?

I've never been able to get a busy mother to try this, but I haven't given
up yet. Most of the mothers who are concerned about this are employed and
they aren't interested in satisfying my curiosity.

Pat Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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