Study Launched To Examine Malnourished Breastfed Babies

The first-ever study to examine what every breastfeeding mum fears has been kicked off in the United Kingdom: scientists will finally take a look at whether baby is really getting enough.

Although doctors say its rare that babies fall ill from lack of nourishment during breastfeeding, the doctors who have launched this project say there’s a tendency not to talk about the very real risks involved – because no one wants to rock the breastfeeding boat.

“People are very cagey about saying anything that might give breastfeeding a bad name,” Dr. Sam Richmond, a consultant neonatologist at Sunderland Royal Hospital, told the BBC News.
“But it does need to be addressed – and properly studied – because the consequences can be so severe.”

Writing an article for Babble that examines a few of the most common hurdles (just a few – to hit every hurdle would have taken me three books!), I found that every mum I talked to went through that phase – usually when they came home from the hospital – when they wondered how the milk they were producing could ever be enough to sustain a hungry baby. The best comment came from a paediatrician quoted in the article who admitted she felt the same way – and she KNOWS better. After all, she’s a paediatrician. Kind of makes you feel better, doesn’t it?

My hope is that these types of studies – which as Richmond points out are very necessary – will help put better information into the hands of worried mothers. If we could understand the circumstances of malnourished babies in breastfeeding conditions, moms who have nothing to worry about can have one less burden in those crucial early days of breastfeeding. What’s more, for those who simply CAN’T breastfeed because of this very real condition, there will be evidence to use to back them up when a breastfeeding zealot comes knocking on her door.

Image: BBC News