I avoid recommend pumping routinely or "just in case". I think it's funny we are careful to warn mothers about "dependence" on nipple shields and their possible unintended side effects, but don't similarly explain the potential consequences of pump use -- including dependence and the loss of the direct supply-and-demand milk production system. Though I think pumping can be very useful and of course I recommend it (as an alternative to hand expression) in cases of separation, extended breast refusal, etc., it is an intervention and I don't go along with the attitude that "it can't hurt and it might help". I think it *can* hurt and it might *not* help and that it should therefore be used on a case-by-case basis. I think we are so focused on protecting the milk supply that we forget all the women with very abundant supplies. An overabundant supply in a mother who doesn't know how to lower it can make every feeding a confusing battle with a clearly overwhelmed upset baby who acts unsatisfied and gassy and has "diarrhea", and calms right down when given a bottle... at which point the mother may also get a plugged duct from skipping the at-breast feeding... Weaning is the obvious next step for many mothers at this point. I believe routine pumping can cause or worsen this and for that reason, I wonder if it's really a good way to "prevent" plugged ducts. It strikes me as an inflationary setup: you get locked in to always having to pump more in order to drain the breasts which then make more so you have to pump yet more...and by the time the mother is making this much, it's the determined baby who will nurse long enough to get much hindmilk. How can we preach "supply and demand" out of one side of our mouths, and recommend *extensive*daily* pumping for a wide variety of common breastfeeding glitches out of the other? (Again I am not talking about separation, complete non-nursers etc.) Furthermore, once you've pumped, what are you going to do with the expressed milk? It's not in the baby yet. Whether it goes into the fridge or the freezer, sooner or later someone's going to feed it to the baby. In my experience it's sooner rather than later, and it's in a bottle. This does not help the baby learn to latch on the bare breast and may disincline the baby for the breast even w/shield because of the faster flow from the bottle. Our dependence on pumps is affecting people's perception of how breastfeeding works. It's not a direct relationship between mother and baby any more, it's a mediated relationship, with the pump as the central indispensable element. Yesterday three women asked me for or about pumps. One had normal engorgement, and another is 36 weeks pregnant and wondered what kind of pump to get. She had no reason to need one right away, just assumed she would have to get one since she was planning on breastfeeding. Hello???? (The third was the one whose 3 week old was to spend a full day with grandma -- in a previous post.) Elise LLLL, IBCLC Swiftwater, NH *********************************************** 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(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html