> Lynn: I don't tell my postpartum clients that the bottle is easier. I say that the bottle sucks on a bottle in a completely different way than he does the breast. His mouth is more closed, he uses the front of his mouth and sucks with his lips and the tip of his tongue and there isn't any of the jaw action, no nipple going back to the soft palate as with the breast. Saying that the milk comes out of the bottle faster is senseless, as some mothers have such a strong milk ejection reflex that the baby has to gulp to keep up, seems faster than a bottle to me. Vicky York, IBCLC, CPD Postpartum Care Services Portland, Oregon www.spiritone.com/~vmyork/ Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 19:26:27 EDT > From: Lynn Shea <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: work of breastfeeding > > There has been some discussion recently about the difference between bottle > and breastfeeding and the semantics used to describe it. Someone mentioned the > idea that a baby may have trouble latching or prefer the bottle because it is > "harder" to breast feed. We all hear this sentiment every day.....moms are > discouraged from using a bottle early on because the baby may learn to prefer the > "easier" route etc... Frankly, I cringe every time I hear this and I'm > wondering how others feel. It has to be a powerfully undermining idea to think that > you are forcing your fragile newborn to do something "hard" especially when > there is something "easy"! Never mind the fact that many babies make > breastfeeding look easier than..... breathing! > Someone also mentioned their premise that bottle nipples are potentially > confusing ONLY because of their faster flow and the fact that babies will- > naturally "prefer" this to slower. I don't believe that this is the only concern with > bottle nipples.I don't think that you can separate out the impact of the > "connection" made in the baby's mind between a firm, overly identifiable piece of > plastic and food-regardless of the rate of flow. Any thoughts?? > Lynn Shea Rn,Bsn,Ibclc > Franklin,Massachusetts > > *********************************************** > *********************************************** 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