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20/03/2013

Breastfeeding 'Provides Enough Milk For Babies'

New research has suggested that very few babies become seriously ill because they are not getting enough milk from breastfeeding.

In a report from The Guardian, researchers behind the study are now calling for better support for mothers who breastfeed.

Doctors in Bradford and Sheffield collected details of every case regarding severe neonatal hypernatraemia (where babies lose weight and become dehydrated due to a lack of milk) in the UK and Ireland between May 2009 and June 2010. Within that time period, Dr Sam Oddie and his colleagues found there were 62 cases. This equates to seven cases for every 100,000 births.

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In the study by Dr Oddie, all the affected babies were admitted to hospital, but all were discharged within two weeks, having gained weight and without suffering any lasting damage.

Speaking about the findings, Dr Oddie said: "Measures such as early initiation of breastfeeding, skilled helpers observing and supporting women breastfeeding and targeting help in cases where feeding is difficult…will both support the initiative of breastfeeding in general and find cases where a more serious problem may be developing.

"As far as I’m concerned the answer isn’t more formula feeding, but better support for breastfeeding from the outset. In only a few cases were there special features of the baby [such as a cleft palate] that made it likely that there would be a severe feeding problem."

Neonatal hypernatraemia usually appears when a baby is about ten days old and the first signs include lethargy and irritability. However, some babies can deteriorate very rapidly and require hospital admission. In the most severe cases, the condition can cause seizures, brain damage and even death.

(JP)

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"New research has suggested that very few babies become seriously ill because they are not getting enough milk from breastfeeding."