I can definitely imagine situations where one's mother's negative comments could affect supply. If prior to grandma coming, the breastfeeding mother was offering the breast on cue, not looking at the clock, and simply letting the baby drive her supply, she probably developed a normal initial milk supply. Then grandma comes, and suddenly every time mom turns around she hears "What? Are you going to nurse him AGAIN? It's only been 45 minutes!" "Is he still nursing, he's been on 25 minutes already?" "He's crying again! Didn't you just feed him?" "How many times did he get up last night? You kids slept 8 hours right after you came home from the hospital!" And so in order to avoid hearing these comments, the mom starts to try to hold the baby off, or shorten his feeds, or offer him a pacifier at night. Unconsiously, feeds are spaced out, shortened, or skipped, and any time baby appears hungry or unsettled, formula is offered. It isn't long before supply takes a significant hit. I've had this experience personally with my first, where my parents were convinced I couldn't make enough milk for a baby (I was a flat-chested 17 year old when I gave birth the first time.) I distinctly remember times when I knew if I was alone with him, I'd be offering the breast, but since the skeptics were right there, I'd try anything else instead. Fortunately in my case, my parents went back to work pretty quickly and I went back to following my baby's cues. I've always been someone who needs to nurse frequently to produce enough milk and not following my baby's lead would have definitely jeopardized my supply in a big hurry. (The good news is that my mom is now a huge breastfeeding advodate 16 1/2 years later! She thinks it's wonderful that all of her grandchildren have been breastfed and talks it up to anyone who will listen.) Jennifer Tieman Family Physician Mom to 4, including my toddler nursling Caroline Rose *********************************************** 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