Wow, can you imagine having eight babies all at once? The CA mom who gave birth to octuplets on January 26 is planning to breastfeed her babies and that's wonderful, but my question is, is that even physically possible?
From the New York Times:
"A full-term newborn eats about eight and twelve times a day, taking about two to three ounces per feeding (every baby is different, and these averages are for full-term singletons not preemie octuplets, but let’s work on the assumption that the octuplets will grow quickly.) With 128 ounces to a gallon they would consume that means that together they would need about two gallons a day. Is it physically possible to produce that much breast milk?
"Gina Ciagne, a certified lactation counselor, and the director of breastfeeding and consumer relations for Lansinoh Laboratories, which makes such products as breast pumps and nipple cream, believes that it is. But she doesn’t think it will be easy. Nursing is supply and demand, she says, the more demanded of your body, the more it supplies. In other words, a body doesn’t know if it is feeding eight babies or one very, very hungry baby, it just rises to the occasion — or tries to.
To do this, the mother will need to eat, drink, and rest. The rule of thumb is that a nursing mother should eat an extra 500 calories for each child, but an added 4,000 calories a day is neither possible nor necessary, Ciagne says. The goal should be a healthy and plentiful diet.
Equally impossible, it would seem, is feeding all the babies exclusively from the breast. Let’s say each feeding takes 15 minutes on average (a low estimate, I realize, but let’s work with it.) Then assume an average of ten feedings per child per day. That’s four hours per baby, multiplied by all the babies, would require a 32-hour day."
Last time I checked, there were only 24 hours in a day - she'll probably have to supplement, but time will tell. Women's bodies are certainly designed to do A LOT. So, there is a chance that she can do it. The still-unidentified mom is going to be tired, that's for sure.
The octuplets are expected to remain in incubators for approximately 2 months. Dr. Mandhir Gupta said that the first 72 hours are the most criticial, "but blood pressure is very good, their heartbeat is very good."
Gupta said the octuplets mom is "a very strong woman. She should be able to take care of all eight of them."
All the best to her and the babies!
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