I am very interested in the topic of stomach capacity. We had a
neonatologist at our hospital complain about the use of the belly
balls. His first complaint was that they did not accurately represent
the amounts stated (they're not very accurate), but then he asked for
the research behind the numbers. When Hollister wasn't able to provide
any (as I understand it) he demanded that we stop using them.

I had a copy of a publication from 1920 (I believe) where infant
stomach capacity was measured through pre- and post-feeding weights in
the hospital. I have temporarily loaned this article to my boss, so I
don't have the citation right now. It did show very small stomach
capacity in the early days (consistent with the belly ball
literature). However, the neonatologist rejected it as being too old
(have babies changed in 80 years?) I would like to ask him for his
research justifying supplementing a one-day-old baby with 60 cc, but I
haven't had the opportunity yet.

I also had questions about this article. It mentioned that babies were
breastfed five times per day, without describing further. Does anyone
know if that would have been just the five times measured, or if it
was routine at that time to have mothers breastfeed only five times
per day? And were there scales accurate enough in 1920 to measure 5
gram gains?

I'd LOVE to find any newer research on stomach capacity.

Lisa Mandell, MBA, IBCLC
Havertown, PA USA

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