Would like to clear up a little misconception about milk storage in the
breast.  Lost the post, so I don't know who originated it.  She stated
that there is very little storage capacity in the breast and that the
milk is mostly produced as the baby is feeding.  A lot of new
information, most notably from studies by Peter Hartman, have shown that
this previously held belief was not grounded in scientific fact.
Although women do exhibit varying degrees of capacity for storage, most
of the milk taken at an average feeding was produced prior to the feed.
As far as alcohol removal goes, molecules within the body move to varying
degrees between the various fluid compartments, in this case, the high
concentration of alcohol first moving into and then out of the breast
milk to the plasma .  I would also like to concur with a previous post
that although the breast and breastmilk have wonderful and sometimes
almost miraculous qualities, they are still part of the total body
physiology and subject to the same insults, including bacterial, viral,
and fungal infection.  Fortunately, because of their unique design, with
proper management, such infections will be kept to a minimum.

Sharon Knorr
Lactation Consultant Services
Rochester, New York
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