The Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group at The University of Western Australia aims to gain a greater understanding of the synthesis and secretion of breastmilk as well as the mechanisms of removal of milk from the breast by either the suckling infant or by expression with an electric breast pump. The understanding of these mechanisms will facilitate successful breastfeeding by providing an evidence base for the clinical management of human lactation
Approximately 35% of all women who wean early report perceived insufficient milk as the primary reason, described as a woman perceiving that her supply is inadequate either to satisfy her infant’s hunger (based on the infant’s behavior, including the frequency and duration of breastfeeding sessions) or to support “adequate” weight gain. Individuals who perceive that they have insufficient milk are more likely to use complementary bottles of infant formula, which may lead to a cycle of ever-decreasing breast milk production. Breastfeeding knowledge has been shown to be strongly correlated with breastfeeding confidence and actual lactation duration. Thus, evidence-based information can assist efforts to improve rates of successful breastfeeding by averting either unskilled or inconsistent professional support.
Measurement of milk supply by 24-hour in-home test-weighing of infants can provide objective information that can support the confidence of breastfeeding mothers and their clinicians when breastfeeding parameters are shown to be normal. Alternatively, measurement can guide the clinician in the management and support of the breastfeeding dyad.
If you are concerned about your breastmilk production or how much breastmilk your infant takes talk to your general practitioner, lactation consultant or contact [email protected] to discuss borrowing a set of baby scales and request login ID and password. You will then be able to enter the weight of your (clothed) infant before and after breastfeeding, before and after any bottle feeds, or measure the amount of any breastmilk expressed. This will allow generation of a report on the frequency of breastfeeds, average duration and amount of each breastfeed, total amount of breastmilk transferred to the infant during breastfeeding and, if appropriate, the amount of breastmilk expressed, the amount of expressed breastmilk and/or formula fed, and the total milk intake of your infant.