PIP: Letter to the editor commenting on "Clinical and field studies of human lactation: methodological considerations," by Brown et al. The point is made that in test-weighing infants to estimate breast milk intake, culture related breastfeeding practices must be studied before a 12 hour test period is used to estimate intake for a complete 24 hour period. In western cultures milk intake between 7 am and 7 pm was found to differ significantly from intake between 7 pm and 7 am, whereas in a Bangladesh study milk intake during the 2 12 hour periods was comparable.