I have been thinking about how I came to my strong belief that even a small
amount of breast milk offers significant benefits.  The first thing I
remember was a LLL leader telling me about a serious case of NEC in a
premie, where she had arranged a milk donor and it had only taken something
like 6 ounces a day for the baby's intestines to start to recover.  Shortly
thereafter, in 1986, I adopted Allan, at the age of one month.  I had tried
to nurse Allan, with minimal knowledge and support, but not gotten real far
because of his horribly weak and inefficient suck which, unfortunately, the
same leader did not know what to do about.  After three months of almost
constant screaming, at least partly due to chronic ear infections, which
antibiotics had not gotten rid of, but had ravaged his little intestines, I
had decided to go against the ped's advice and find some donated breast milk
for him.  I threw away the antibiotics the same day I gave him the first
four ounce bottle of EBM.  After just a few days of getting 4-6 ounces of
EBM a day, his color had improved, screaming had diminished, and I finally
got to see what he looked like smiling!  After two weeks, his ears were
clear, for the first time in over three months.  He did not have another ear
infection, or intestinal upset, until more than a year later, after we had
moved to Germany and I no longer had a source of EBM for him.

I could relate many individual situations where a small amount of breast
milk, either from the adoptive mom's breasts, or donated from someone else,
has produced dramatic results in an adopted baby who'd had chronic health
problems, usually either of the upper respiratory of digestive tracts.  I
have also raised my last four adopted babies, who got a combination of my
milk and formula, alongside other babies of similar ages who got only
formula, and noticed a significant difference in the number of severity of
illnesses.

As far as research, I wonder if there is any looking at the effects of small
amounts of breast milk in babies who are taking solid foods, rather than
formula.  I don't think there is anything specific about formula that would
make it interfere with the effects of breast milk more than other foods
would.  I seem to remember seeing some looking at toddlers, who were getting
most of their nutrition elsewhere, and only nursing a little bit, but whose
health was much better compared to children the same age who were not
nursing at all.  Of course, the digestive development of a toddler is not
the same as a younger baby, but I would think any research that indicated
that partial breastfeeding was beneficial in older babies and young children
would still be useful.

There is currently a statement made that it only takes a half ounce of
breastmilk per feeding to provide all the benefits of breastfeeding.  I do
not believe that is a fair or accurate statement to make.  Obviously the
ideal will always be for the baby to get nothing but breastmilk. I think it
depends on the individual case, how much breast milk it takes to offer
benefits, and what the specific benefits are.  My feeling is that the
advantages of a small amount are more immunological than nutritional.  I
think it also depends alot on other issues, such as the general state of the
baby's health and what kind of supplement is used and how well the baby
tolerates it.

While I disagree with the statement that a half ounce provides all the
benefits, I would feel comfortable saying that a half ounce, and maybe even
less, per feeding, is enough to provide some amount of benefit.  I would
also reminds mothers that nurturing at the breast provides important
benefits.

Darillyn

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