In a message dated 4/2/2005 12:06:15 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: "Breathing difficulty so he is under the O2 hood with respirations fluctuating between 60 and 80. Two of the nurses stated that they give these babies a bath to encourage crying and open their lungs . . . I have read that there is no physiological benefits to crying. In fact it is documented that crying can be harmful in some cases." Gene Cranston Anderson has done a lot of research on crying in the newborn & it is NOT a good thing. If you do a search with her name, you will find lots of good information about the newborn. Please give these nurses some of her work--they need to be updated (educated). I have worked nursery & Level 2 NICU (over the last 36 yrs.) --- We do not give infants baths if they are stressed. We make sure that they are stable before a bath is given. The cooling effects of a bath could cause further distress. These nurses must be old! --this is something that we used to do many years ago, but we have better information today. Also, I was told a baby can't breastfeed until resp. rates are 60 or below. Is this true? We often have the nurses/docs send babies out to mom to feed when RR is 60-70 & no signs of resp distress. you have to assess the whole baby, not just one thing. Maybe the baby is active & hungry, looking for food (mom) & that's why his RR is slightly elevated. Breastfeeding is not harmful for this infant. Laura Hart, RN, BSN, IBCLC Winter Park, FL *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html