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Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 10 Jan 2002 08:12:08 EST
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Rachel says,

> Jan Barger posts on the variation in fat content between mothers and over
> time.
> I can't make this fit with my study on a sample of one mother of twins, my
> friend, who has so little body fat that I wondered how she even
menstruated
> before getting spontaneously pregnant with twins, her 3rd and 4th
children.
> She fed them, together, every four hours because that's when they were
> hungry.  Her breasts even then were barely visible with the naked eye.
Her
> children grew well, were sleek and round and thriving.  They are
> adolescents
> today and have their parents' build, tall and svelte.
> We never checked fat content because why would we?
> But how does this fit the theory you outlined, Jan?
>
I have no idea.  It certainly doesn't fit with what I've outlined -- but
(she
shrugs her shoulders) it goes to show us that we certainly can't nail down
breastfeeding into a simple and sleek package, can we?  The mother I had
that
didn't ever put her baby to breast, but pumped using a Medela manual pump
for
a year -- pumped 4x a day and got 16 ounces each time (nearly 2 Liters/day)
-- doesn't fit with anything I know either.  It doesn't square with milk
volume in moms of singletons topping out at around 850 ml/24 hours
(according
to studies).  And now that Cathy F. has graciously thrown her cat in among
the pigeons, if babies ONLY grow through volume of milk consumed, (not fat,
protein, energy or other constituents of breastmilk), then how can a 15
pound
baby continue to grow appropriately on 850 ml/day (which is approximately 28
ounces) -- about enough according to the calculations we use of
2.5ounces/pound of body weight/day to support an 11 pound baby.

She throws up her hands in despair -- what's the answer?  IS there an answer
that will satisfy all the questions we have.  Somehow I don't think that the
answer on the IBLCE exam is going to be:

"Mother's Milk is Magic"

Though that certainly is ONE answer!

Jan Barger, RN, MA, IBCLC -- Wheaton IL
Lactation Education Consultants
www.lactationeducationconsultants.com

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