Foremilk/hindmilk / finish one breast first or not?

[jasperc163]

I have been reading alot of posts re sleepy / jaundiced newborns that advise swapping breasts during the feed to help keep the baby awake. These posts seemed to refute the theory that you need to 'finish' one breast first to get the benefit of hindmilk?

I have been trying swapping with my sleepy/disinterested feeder over last 24hrs and it does seem to help a bit. However MW wasnt too happy and started talking about the hindmilk issue and increased risk of mastitis..

Is there any research that supports the view that there isn't a clear line between fore/hind milk and therefore swapping not such a problem?

thanks

jasper, there is no clear line between fore and hindmilk. There is no need to engineer the feeding to ensure the baby gets the 'right' milk - following the baby's cues and behaviour is normally fine.

When babies are sleepy and not feeding well, swapping sides back and forth can help them - it's a recognised way of increasing the volume of milk taken and the volume of milk made.

But if a baby is doing fine, then swapping deliberately is not necessary. The baby can stay on the first side until he cues he wants to stop or swap, and then the other side can be offered.

Maybe the midwife thinks your baby is fine and doesn't need to be swapped?

thanks tiktok. Baby is doing ok but still has quite a way to get back to birthweight (now 8 days). She is very sleepy and loses interest pretty quickly and it is hardwork to get her to keep feeding (and she has to be woken for feeds) so anything that helps is good :-)
MW's view was def that you don't get the hindmilk if you do this.

thanks for the reassurance...

Midwife is not understanding how foremilk-hindmilk works.

It is not a question of time on the breast.

I am about to go out, but if you read what www.kellymom.com says about 'how breastfeeding works' you'll see that the degree of fullness/emptiness of the breast is the marker for fat content of milk.

Swapping sides repeatedly is not the usual thing to do if all is well - the baby can decide when to come off. But if the baby lacks volume of breastmilk (which counts far more than 'hindmilk'), and has a tendency to lose interest, then 'switch nursing' is a sensible intervention, and sorry, but she should flippin well know this.

i have been swapping all along and have a very healthy 6 month milk monster...