Thank you for some clarification on this issue, Alison!!!  I agree that
importing terms coined for bottle-feeding could get us into difficulties, both
of accuracy and of understanding.

I just wondered about one thing you said:  "we need to drop that terminology and
use some other term like comfort
sucking or call-up sucking to describe the two-sucks per second rate of
sucking."

I think that what you mean by call-up sucking, is that flutter feeding at the
start of the feed, which is rapid and shallow.

By comfort feeding I would understand the shallow, infrequent non-rhythmic
suckling at the END of a feed as the baby appears to be nodding off and just
generally enjoying the experience of being in his mother's arms.  The pattern
can change if the mother moves as if to take the baby away from the breast,
becoming deeper.  THIS  is what I understand by comfort sucking, something I
wouldn't confuse or equate to call-up sucking.  If I saw it at the start of a
feed, my first recourse would (still) be to look at the positioning.

I am not clear if you might understand something different with the two terms,
comfort sucking and call-up sucking.  Maybe we are getting in a twist because of
different useage of terms.

Perhaps we need to work toward an internationally recognised vocabulary of
breastfeeding!!!

Thanks again for your helpful information.

Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter
The Breastfeeding Network, UK