1. The energy values of the diets of twenty-three women who were breast-feeding and thirty-two who were bottle-feeding their babies were determined by 7 d weighed surveys. All the subjects were healthy and living at home, and their babies were thriving. The lactating mothers took, on average, 591 kcal (2.5 MJ)/d more than those who were not lactating.2. Both groups were losing weight, on average. The estimated contribution of such losses to the total energy supply was added to and the amounts expended on basal metabolism deducted from the dietary energy intakes. Since the activity of each group was fairly similar, it was possible to conclude that the average amount of energy available to support lactation was 618 kcal (2.6 MJ) daily. The average energy value of the milk produced was estimated from the weights of the babies to be 597 kcal (2.5 MJ) daily.3. Critical evaluation of those averages, and of the assumptions on which they were based, led to the conclusion that the energy exchanges in human lactation have an efficiency of 90% or more, with a lower limit of about 80%.4. The additional supply of 600 kcal (2.5 MJ) in the daily diet should suffice to support lactation and a ‘round figure’ of 500 kcal (2.1MJ) daily may be regarded as reasonable in official recommended allowances.

BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & GynaecologyVolume 75, Issue 9 p. 903-916 THE ASSESSMENT OF FETAL GROWTH A. M. Thomson B.Sc., M.B., D.P.H., F.R.C.O.G., A. M. Thomson B.Sc., M.B., D.P.H., F.R.C.O.G. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon TyneSearch for more papers by this authorW. Z. Billewicz M.Sc., W. Z. Billewicz M.Sc. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon TyneSearch for more papers by this authorF. E. Hytten M.D., Ph.D., F. E. Hytten M.D., Ph.D. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon TyneSearch for more papers by this author A. M. Thomson B.Sc., M.B., D.P.H., F.R.C.O.G., A. M. Thomson B.Sc., M.B., D.P.H., F.R.C.O.G. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon TyneSearch for more papers by this authorW. Z. Billewicz M.Sc., W. Z. Billewicz M.Sc. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon TyneSearch for more papers by this authorF. E. Hytten M.D., Ph.D., F. E. Hytten M.D., Ph.D. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon TyneSearch for more papers by this author First published: September 1968 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1968.tb01615.xCitations: 605AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume75, Issue9September 1968Pages 903-916 RelatedInformation

1. Skinfold thicknesses at seven sites were measured during and after pregnancy in eighty- four women; in forty-eight of these, total body water was measured concurrently. 2. Early in pregnancy (10 weeks) the skinfold measurements were highly correlated with each other and with maternal weight, ratio of observed weight to standard weight-for-height,‘dry’ (water-free) weight, and with calculated estimates of body fat. 3. At nearly all sites, skinfold thicknesses increased up to about 30 weeks of pregnancy. Increases were greater at ‘central’ and least at ‘peripheral’ sites, and were not proportional to the initial skinfold thickness. 4. From 30 to 38 weeks of pregnancy, the patterns were variable: the mid-thigh skinfold continued to increase and at the other sites there was little change or a decrease. 5. All sites decreased by a surprisingly large amount between 38 weeks of pregnancy and the end of the first post-partum week. The evidence suggests that this change, which was not related to the presence or absence of oedema, occurred about the time of parturition. 6. From the end of the first post-partum week to 6–8 weeks post partum, the changes were again variable. 7. The increase of skinfolds during pregnancy was greater in underweight than in overweight women, and in primiparae than in multiparae. The pattern of change was not affected in any consistent manner by oedema. 8. The changes in skinfold thicknesses during pregnancy, especially up to about 30 weeks, showed patterns similar to those of total body-weight and ‘dry’ body-weight. A formula is given by means of which ‘dry’ weight can be predicted from five skinfolds, height and duration of gestation.

BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & GynaecologyVolume 74, Issue 1 p. 1-10 THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF OEDEMA DURING PREGNANCY A. M. Thomson B.Sc., M.B., D.P.H., A. M. Thomson B.Sc., M.B., D.P.H. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne 2 *Search for more papers by this authorF. E. Hytten M.D., Ph.D., F. E. Hytten M.D., Ph.D. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne 2 *Search for more papers by this authorW. Z. Billewicz M.Sc., W. Z. Billewicz M.Sc. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne 2 *Search for more papers by this author A. M. Thomson B.Sc., M.B., D.P.H., A. M. Thomson B.Sc., M.B., D.P.H. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne 2 *Search for more papers by this authorF. E. Hytten M.D., Ph.D., F. E. Hytten M.D., Ph.D. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne 2 *Search for more papers by this authorW. Z. Billewicz M.Sc., W. Z. Billewicz M.Sc. Reproduction and Growth Research Unit (Medical Research Council), Princess Mary Maternity Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne 2 *Search for more papers by this author First published: February 1967 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1967.tb03924.xCitations: 79 This work was undertaken while the authors were on e staff of the Medical Research Council's Obstetric Medicine Research Unit, Aberdeen. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume74, Issue1February 1967Pages 1-10 RelatedInformation