Thanks Kathleen for your comment on the word nursing.  The Nursing Mothers'
Association of Australia was called that because the word breast was
unacceptable in the media in the 1960s.  Today we prefer to use the more
direct word breastfeeding and see our ability to use that word as a giant
step forward in bringing breastfeeding out of the closet.  To use nurse to
mean breastfeed in the present day is to be coy - which most of us want to
avoid.

Many years ago an American friend told me that she had heard of a mother
with PND who  'had not nursed her baby until he had died'.  Her question was
" How could she nurse (ie breastfeed) a dead baby? The person telling the
story used the word 'nurse' in the usual Australian way meaning hold closely
or cuddle.

While I do acknowledge that different cultures use words differently, I
would advocate that we attempt to use language that is as widely understood
as possible, without having to explain our terms to our colleagues.

Our term for pacifier is even better than soother, it is dummy!

Regards,
Philippa