The Breast Feeding of Mature Infants during the Neonatal Period, and the Influence of Some Factors on the Same

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Summary.1. The case‐material comprises 1,074 infants, with a birth weight of more than 2,500g. 43.9 % of the mothers were primiparae, and 56.1 % were multiparae.2. With the feeding method used, the infants lost a mean of 8 % of their birth weights. A slight tendency towards increased weight loss, and a later occurrance of the minimum weight has been established in the heavy weight classes.3. A probable correlation both for primi‐ and multiparae could be established between the infants' birth weights and the total breast milk amount during the 2–7 day. The decrease of the breast milk amount parallel to the infant's decrease of birth weight was greater in the case of the primiparae than the multiparae.4. Certain negative correlation was established between the age of the mother and the breast milk amount during the 2–7 day. In the primiparae an age difference of 10 years corresponded to an alteration of the breast milk amount of about 17–20 %, in the multiparae 12–15 %. The tendency towards a less amount of breast milk in increasing age was greater in the primiparae than in the multiparae.5. The infants of the healthy primiparae lost 0.5 ± 0.20 % more of their birth weight than those of the multiparae, even though the primiparae were an average of 5.6 years younger, and though their infants had received additional food to a greater extent. The primiparae in this case‐material had a 12.3 % less amount of breast milk than the multiparae. However, if this is transferred on a similar basis, this difference becomes much greater, e.g. in the case of 30 year old mothers and infants with a birth weight of 3,500 g the difference is 18.5 %.6. Deficient health and illness of the mothers only has an influence on the secretion of the mammary glands when the illness is of a relatively serious nature. Anaemia and albuminuria in the broad sense of the word were practically speaking only of very slight influence. Relatively serious resorption fever and other diseases of comparable seriousness, however, diminished the breast milk amount. The mothers, on whom forceps delivery had been performed also had less breast milk, but the difference, in this case‐material could not be proved. The influence of disease was throughout greater in the case of the primiparous than the multi‐parous women.7. Conditions applying to the primiparae are particularly noticeable throughout. They have already normally a considerably smaller amount of breast milk, and all the factors that influence the latter negatively, such as low birth weight of the infants, advanced age of the mother, and diseases of the mother have a considerably greater influence in the case of the primiparae.8. The difference in the amount of breast milk between the primi‐ and the multiparae is equalized relatively rapidly, so that the differences are small already one week after the delivery. This is the case no matter whether the mother is healthy or ill. The particular conditions of the primiparae must be caused by a slower development of the secretional properties of the mammary glands, a process that is also influenced in a higher degree by unfavourable factors than the corresponding one of the multiparae. This is probably related to the fact that the first differentiation of the cells to their milk producing function is more comprehensive than the later ones.9. Our only possible way of improving feeding results during the neonatal period, is to work for pregnancy at a relatively early age. The birth of the first child while the mother is young is favourable from the biological viewpoint.10. The feeding result at the release from the maternity hospitals showed that 92.6% of the infants could be sent home as purely breastfed children.11. Registration of the feeding of infants ought to be introduced into our maternity hospitals, and a short summary of the feeding results into the annual reports.