>I was having a discussion with a dietician who told me that the explosive
>stools BF babies get are the result of too much lactose in mother's milk for
>the quantity of lactase in the baby's gut and that the stools became less
>and less explosive as the baby's gut became more mature and adapted it's
>secretion of lactase to the quantity of lactose in the mother's milk. What
>do you all think? Any references that agree or disagree?

Dany, I think this is true in many cases, especially when mother has an
oversupply of milk, and baby is getting large volumes of low-fat foremilk.
It is common in colicky babies where this is happening. (But this is *not*
what doctors describe as lactose intolerance - I wanted to make that
clear.) I think they become less explosive also as supply settles down, or
management is improved to slow down supply, eg 'finish the first breast
first', rather than x minutes per side every feed. I tell mothers that in
the beginning, oversupply is common because lactation is turned on
full-bore by hormones, and the body does not yet know whether you have one,
2 or 3 babies to feed. Once feeding gets going, the breasts downgrade their
supply according to baby's needs, as the autocrine system takes over
(although I don't use this word with the mums - I give a simple
explanation).

Joy Anderson IBCLC, NMAA Breastfeeding Counsellor
Perth, Western Australia
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