Thank you Virginia. Great post. Kathleen Kathleen B. Bruce RN BSN IBCLC HeritageWoolSamplers https://www.etsy.com/shop/HeritageWoolSamplers [log in to unmask] Williston, Vermont USA On Sun, Oct 11, 2015 at 6:44 PM, Virginia Thorley <[log in to unmask] > wrote: > I note the concerns of Jacquie in New Zealand and Rachel in Norway about > the routine supplementation of newborns on the flimsiest of excuses. You > have both wondered why. > > Unfortunately, we are up against a long cultural history of early > supplementation. In living memory, in the 1960s and 1970s supplementation > was given in the belief that colostrum wasn't enough (measuring it against > the perceived "norm" of artificial feeding). In Europe in the eighteenth > century(1, 2) and - in England at least - into the first three decades of > the nineteenth century (3), colostrum was withheld and a variety of other > foods given, either for several days or for the first 24 hours. In the > intervening years, this suspicion hasn't gone away. Often, this suspicion > of inadequacy was applied at any time during the period when the mother was > breastfeeding, not just in the first few days, as generations of > advertising messages reflected (4). > > Health staff still don't understand about the comfortable stomach capacity > of newborns and that colostrum falls into the "Goldilocks zone": not too > much, not too little, and just right. (Since astrophysicists use the > "Goldilocks zone" image in another context, I see it as a good metaphor for > my purpose here.) In the settings in which you work, it looks as if the > criterion for supplementation is - in effect - being alive and breathing! > > References are below. Just scroll down. > > Virginia > > Dr Virginia Thorley, OAM, PhD, IBCLC, FILCA > Cultural historian of the history of medicine > Ipswich, Queensland, Australia > > References: > 1) Cadogan W. An essay upon nursing, and the management of children, from > their birth to three years of age. By a physician. 1748: London, J. > Roberts. > 2) Rosen von Rosenstein N. Graire des maladies des enfants. (French > trans), 1778: Paris: Chez Pierre-Guillaume Cavallier. [Originally published > in Swedish in 1771.] > 3) Smith FE. The people's health. London: Croom Helm, 1979. > 4) Thorley V. PhD thesis. University of Queensland, 2007. > > Jacquie Nutt wrote: > I must be missing something, but I cannot think of a single reason why a > baby would NEED to be supplemented in the first 48 hours if s/he was going > to the breast at least occasionally..... Is there one single medical reason > for a > health professional to advise formula supplements for a breastfed baby on > Day 1 or 2? .... the number of babies who come out of the > hospital having been supplemented within the first couple of hours, even > when the mums committed fully to exclusive breastfeeding in antenatal > classes. The reasons for "medically advised" supplements include, "your > baby is cold", "your baby is too small", "your baby is too big".... > > *********************************************** > > Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html > To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] > Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] > COMMANDS: > 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: > set lactnet nomail > 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail > 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet > 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome > *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome