Dear Folks:
  This is in response to Patricia Drazin's email.
  On page 7 of the WHO/UNICEF publication Protecting, Promoting, and
Supporting Breastfeeding, there is the statement that "under normal
circumstances the neonate requires no water or other food whatsoever during
the first 2-4 days after birth while lactation is being initiated."
   Now, can we consider birth in US hospitals "under normal circumstances"?
   The best thing for babies after birth is skin to skin with their mothers,
so the babies can recover from birth ( pitocin, vacuum or forceps, being
pulled out by their heads, and being assaulted with the bulb syringe or the
catheter) and seek their mothers' breast. Give the baby time and space to
recover and to reach out.  Nikki Lee