Sally, you wrote:

<i would love to read your repsonses to this classic so that i can
formulate a great discussion/lecture about a misconception that in
this busy world, we can't teach the midwives then the mothers that
there is time to sit or lie with the baby and give him what he wants.
that mums could possibly save time by feeding the baby instead of
putting the dummy back in...putting the dummy back in ......putting
the ................oh well lets feed you then!>

I congratulate you for the detective work you did for the sake of baby
and dad, especially in finding the mom, not asleep, but on the phone.

In your reasoning with the midwives, don't forget thirst! They should be
able to identify immediately with the fact that the baby has had
unlimited access to amniotic fluid for months, until a short while
before, but a long interruption at least during the second stage of labor
and thereafter.

An interesting fact I came upon in a physiology text not long ago is that
the sensation of thirst is quickly satisfied because of nature's need to
tightly control the sodium balance in the tissues. If thirst satiety
took as long as calorie satiety, this would interfere with  kidneys, ADH,
etc. close control of sodium.

On the other hand, we claim we worry about dehydration in the breastfed
newborn. We need to tie these two ideas together.
So if we can all realize that much of a breastfed baby's demand
(especially in the newborn period) is as much or more THIRST as it is
hunger, maybe we could adjust our attitudes more easily!

Jean
*****************************************
K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC
Dayton, Ohio USA

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