Between June 1980 and April 1986 796 cases of female sterilization were performed in a private clinic in Malaysia using Mark IVa and Mark VI Filshie clips. There was one failure. Technical failure, surgical difficulties and complications were minimal.
Milk lipids play an important role in the early nutrition of an infant's life. A study was undertaken to investigate the total lipid content of milk obtained from urban, exclusively breastfeeding Malaysian mothers offill term infants. Results from approximately 600 samples analysed using a commercial kit [MerckotestO] , showed that the total lipid concentration was lowest in colostrum [1.9 + 0.1 g/dl J, however this value increased gradually with days of lactation and attained a maximum concentration of 3.1 ± 0.1 g/dl during the mature milk stage. This agrees with results from other studies that the total lipid content is indeed influenced by the stage of lactation. The effect of socioeconomic factors such as income and parity on the milk lipids was also investi-gated and the results revealed that the above factors had no significant influence on the total lipid content of Malaysian mother 's milk obtained during all three stages of lactation studied [colostrum, transitional and mature milk] . However; ethnicity showed significant influence during the mature but not in the early [colostrum and transitional] stage of lactation. This however, is not filly explained by this study. As a whole, this study suggests that the human breast, through a mechanism that is ill understood, maintains cm optimal level of total lipid in milk despite their differing cultural and genetic background. It is hoped that such scientific evidence will instil more confidence among breastfeeding mothers in this fast developing cosmopolitan nation.
Serum prolactin (hPRL) levels in nonpregnant, pregnant and postpartum women during sleep were investigated. The study showed that in non-pregnant women, there is an immediate shift of hPRL release with reversal of sleeping period. Thus, the nocturnal surge for prolactin is sleep related. In pregnant women, however, while there is an increase in hPRL level during pregnancy, the nocturnal rise of this hormone is not detected and this is observed as early as the first trimester of pregnancy.