Thanks, Chayn, and for everyone who discussed this earlier. When I sent in the comment, I meant it to be a question - "Is it EVER medically necessary to give a baby anything but the breast in the first 48 hours, if the mother is breastfeeding ?" but it turned into my little rant and the question was never really asked. If you want to have all your enrage-glands turn on, read this incident: http://www.msn.com/en-za/news/featured/newborn-forgotten-in-incubator/ar-AAe957R However it highlights the fact that healthy full term babies are remarkably resilient. It reminded me of the Mexican City earthquake in 1985 where up to 40 babies were pulled from the rubble of hospitals, one as late as 9 days after the quake. There are countless stories like this about earthquakes - mostly in warmer places where it was obviously possible for the babies to stay warm enough to survive. Last night the question became relevant again. A pregnant woman in our antenatal classes wanted information on expressing colostrum antenatally, as she has Type 1 Diabetes and was told that as soon as the baby is born, he will be supplemented to bring up his sugars. The hospital will accept expressed colostrum if the mother provides it. My new question is: is formula supplementation "just in case" evidence-based practice if the baby is going to the breast well? The mother is determined to breastfeed, so why not let that happen?? We all know that the baby will be followed very closely, as he should be. Her safety net of expressed colostrum is a wonderful idea. I have read Dr Newman's article and will share it with the mother. http://www.nbci.ca/?option=com_content&id=71:hypoglycaemia-of-the-newborn-low-blood-sugar&Itemid=17 Getting back to the issue of overlarge volumes of "supplements": the more I read around this issue, the more I've come to believe that in the first day or two, the breast needs the suckling more than the baby needs food. In a marvellous choreography, the steady practising in the early days gives the baby a rich boost of immune factors and lessons in coordination, while also stimulating the breasts to do their thing to produce the volumes needed later. The baby has a strong need to suckle, yes, so the stimulus of the bottle teat in his mouth will keep him suckling long after his little tummy is full, which leads to all sorts of misinterpretations in mothers (and some staff members). Is this what causes the first damage that could lead to colic and reflux later? Are there other medical conditions where the breastfeeding baby *should* be given a supplement before Day 3, preferably human milk? Best wishes Jacquie Nutt IBCLC *********************************************** 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