Karen, You got the point. I was trying to say that the 1 to 10 scale needs a reference point. Which you did excellently in your statement: <<"On a scale of 1-10, 1 meaning 'no interference' and 10 meaning you're about to say 'forget it' to breastfeeding, how much is the pain interfering with your goals for breastfeeding?">> Seems common sense doesn't it? But I can't tell you how many times I have been asked in these words "On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate your pain ?" And I hear nurses doing the same with new moms all the time. There is no point of reference in their question. In the statement above you gave a point of reference, therefor worded the way you did, the question is not abstract. Hope that makes my point clearer. Marie Davis, RN, IBCLC *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html