Individual patterns of milk intake during breast-feeding

The pattern of milk transfer during breast-feeding was ascertained for individual mother-infant pairs using a ‘fractional’ weighing technique. This method employs a single, fixed intermediate weighing on each breast, and a flexible, final weighing point at the ‘natural’ termination of feeding on each breast. The data demonstrate considerable variability between individuals both in feed length and in the rate of milk transfer from mother to baby. They show that the rate of intake tends to be consistent between the first and second breast, and that each mother-infant pair has a characteristic rate of milk transfer. Significant milk intake occurred from four minutes to the end of the feed on each breast. These results imply that breast-feeding ‘rules’ about the length of a feed can only be offered as helpful guidelines, rather than principles to be strictly followed. The results of a reciprocal nursing experiment suggest that the typical rate of milk transfer is a product of both milk release by the mother and milk demand by the baby.