Hi Diane-
These are good thoughts and the first has been echoed by many lactnetters,
also by one of the sensible pediatricians in the meeting I went to last
week.  thanks for sharing-
Martha Johnson RN IBCLC
Eugene OR


-----Original Message-----
From: Diane Wiessinger [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2001 6:13 AM
To: Johnson, Martha (PHMG)
Subject: why fingers?


>why are
>fingers ok and pacifiers aren't?

Two reasons that come to mind:

1) Because the finger is attached to the person, it can't be used without
baby-holding.  This quickly gets boring and uncomfortable - easier just to
nurse, or to carry the baby without having to keep the finger placed
properly - and so it's used for *vastly* less time than the pacifier, which
can be blithely stuck in there for an hour.

2) It lacks that prissy little constriction.  It may not flare the way a
breast does, but neither does it have a shape that's utterly unlike a
nipple-areolar complex.

Thoughts, anyway.

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