Life Saving Lactation

I'm not sure how many of you have been following the Kim Family story and hoping for the safe rescue of the missing family, but Kati Kim and her two children have been found. Authorities, friends and family are still looking for James Kim.

This article further proves that breastfeeding is best and is life saving...as if we didn't already know and understand that -- well, some of us know it.


ABC News

Breast Milk Ensures Children's Survival
Mother Nurses Two Children, Including 4-Year-Old, Over Nine Days
By DAN CHILDS
ABC News Medical Unit

Dec. 5, 2006 - - Trapped miles from civilization in a snowbound car, in subfreezing temperatures, Kati Kim had to ensure that her children survived until search parties rescued them.

Nine days later, the helicopters came.

Remarkably, Kim's daughters, 4-year-old Penelope and 7-month-old Sabine, were reported to be in good condition after the ordeal.

The key to this fortunate ending may have been the fact that Kim breast-fed both of them to keep them alive amidst the harsh conditions. No other food was available.

Experts say the episode suggests how mother's milk, in a disastrous pinch, can make the difference in the chances of a child's survival.

"The fact that Kati Kim was able to breast-feed both of her children for the amount of time that they were stranded most likely was lifesaving for them," said Dr. Sheela Geraghty, assistant professor of pediatrics and medical director of the Center for Breastfeeding Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati.

"Breast milk not only provides the calories needed to sustain life, it also helps prevents dehydration," Geraghty said.

"I'm really, really grateful that the mother had breast milk available for the baby, as well as for her other child," said Judy Hopkinson, assistant professor at the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

"This is a remarkable fluid in many ways. There is nothing better you can give a child in a disaster than breast milk."

"Lucky for these children that mom was breast-feeding," said Kathy McCoy, a lactation consultant at Clarian Health Partners Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. "No one ever expects disaster to happen, but when it does, breast milk is truly a lifesaver."

Not Just Nutrition

Breast milk is often reputed for its nutritional benefits for children, but Hopkinson says human milk confers more than just sustenance.

"These kids weren't getting, I'm sure, all of the calories they needed," she said. "So the breast milk was also giving them protection against serious illness, in addition to nutrition."

The idea that babies get an immune boost from breast milk is not a new one.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, breast-fed babies suffer fewer illnesses such as diarrhea, earache and respiratory infections.

"Breast milk is really primarily an immune booster," Hopkinson said. "We think of it as nutrition, but it is really integral to the immune system."

Breast-feeding, in this case, may also have helped Kim and her children survive in another way in the harsh conditions -- body heat.

"Breast-feeding increases a mother's body temperature," Hopkinson said. "So with the baby snuggled up against her chest, it probably actually helped them generate body heat to keep themselves warm."

Breast-Feeding Amidst Stress

The Kims' situation was nothing if not traumatic.

After the car ran out of fuel, and Kim and her husband, James, burned tires for warmth, James left her and their two young children and set off into the wilderness to seek help.

He still has not been found.

That Kim was able to continue to breast-feed her children while fearing for the survival of her family is a notable feat, Hopkinson says.

"People always talk about how stress can undermine breast-milk production. In this situation, it's very important to see that it's not about external stress, but it's about internal management of stress."

"You hear stories of mothers breast-feeding during disastrous situations, such as in the blitz on London in World War II. This was obviously a very stressful situation, but she wasn't internalizing it to the point that she could not do anything."

Experts say it is also remarkable that Kim was able to continue to breast-feed her children with little or no food for herself.

"Although the mother herself probably had a very limited food intake during this time, a lactating woman is able to produce an adequate milk supply based on the demand for the milk for a considerable amount of time even under the most extreme circumstances," Geraghty said.

"Think about running a marathon -- it takes a lot out of you, but you can do it," Hopkinson said.

"Mothers can, and often do, operate of a calorie deficit. There is no evidence that a 24-hour fast reduces milk production."

Kim's body was apparently also able to adjust to providing enough milk for both of her children to remain healthy.

"In the vast majority of cases, the baby determines how much milk it needs from the mother," Hopkinson said. "It's really quite amazing how some mothers breast-feed triplets without any help."

"Who knows what the human body is capable of."

Copyright C 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures

Michele Sullivan
cell 703-850-4505