It’s the middle of the night, or if it isn’t, it feels like it.
I was in labor for approximately forever, and I’ve finally fallen asleep while my husband held the baby. I’m not exactly awake right now. But there’s a nurse in front of me, and she is holding a clipboard, and she wants to know how many ounces of breastmilk the baby took at his last feed.
I don’t know. He latched on and stayed latched on until he let go and dozed off in my arms, and I’m pretty confident that was a very healthy and appropriate amount, but she wants a number, and the world makes no sense.
This was 2016, but in the near future, moms in the same situation may be able to give an actual answer to that question.
When Does Feed Volume Really Matter?
Most moms in that situation should not need to be able to declare a number of ounces.
They’ll feed their newborn an amount that satisfies him, and the proof that he’s getting enough will come in the form of wet diapers, weight gain, and baby’s apparent satisfaction.
However, being able to measure feed volume can be important for NICU babies and potentially in other situations where there are questions regarding whether a baby’s intake is meeting his needs. It could also simply provide peace of mind to moms who are afraid their babies aren’t getting enough.
Currently, when there’s a suspicion that a baby isn’t getting what he needs from breastmilk, the answers usually involve nursing more, pumping between feeds, and supplementing formula, and it’s largely guesswork. The outcome can depend greatly on a mom’s determination and support network.
How Does This New Breastmilk Measure Device Work?
A team of researchers from Rice University and Northwestern University set out to answer a request from pediatricians and neonatologists to help monitor a baby’s consumption of breastmilk in real time.
They developed a monitoring device. The current prototype looks like a couple of short pieces of wire with contacts on the ends, but the development team thinks it could eventually be added to a nursing bra so that it’s no more noticeable than the bra itself.
Essentially, it measures changes in the breast, called bioimpedance, as the milk flows. Northwestern’s news service explains:
“As the baby drinks milk, the amount of milk in the breast decreases. This reduction leads to a change in the electrical properties of the breast in a subtle but measurable manner. These changes directly relate to the amount of milk removed from the breast. The larger the amount, the bigger the change in electrical properties. Though subtle, that change can be accurately calibrated and quantified for real-time display on a smartphone during breastfeeding.”
How Is The Accuracy Of The Device Checked?
The device has to be calibrated for each user.
That means you’ll use a breast pump the first time rather than feeding your baby. As you pump, the device will monitor your milk output and then be calibrated based on that measurement.
Since breastmilk’s nutritional content changes with your baby’s growth, the device presumably has to be recalibrated at intervals. However, the researchers haven’t stated exactly how frequently that might be. They expect to put in years yet before the new device is available on the market.
Benefits To Premature Babies & Other NICU Patients
Babies in the NICU tend to be under very precise care.
When my daughter was in the NICU, she was weighed several times a day, and every wet diaper was weighed and recorded. Her feeds were calculated to the milliliter, and if she seemed dissatisfied, then an increase had to be approved.
After a surgery, I would find her grumpy and irritable as her feeds would be paused before surgery, and restarted gradually after — especially for surgeries that involved feeding, like installing her feeding tube.
In these situations, a mother who is otherwise able to breastfeed might be blocked from doing so since it’s impossible to tell the volume of milk the baby is taking and thus hard to regulate it for safety needs. Imagine how frustrating that is for a baby who has learned to derive comfort and a sense of safety from nursing!
Once this device is approved for NICU use, it could reduce such situations by allowing a baby to nurse for comfort and limiting her intake to safe levels!