I like Habermans, though some experienced people do like Pigeon Feeders and
find that they work similarly (because they have a valve and can be milked
solely with positive pressure and don't require creation of suction).  The
Pigeon is a bit cheaper.  It would be interesting to know the chemical
composition of the teat material.  I tend to favor silicone.

Just as an aside:  I would not describe a baby who had lost 11% of
birthweight as 'breastfeeding beautifully.'  In fact, while some infants
with clefts do eventually manage to learn to breastfeed, many newborns with
this condition are transferring very little milk no matter what they LOOK
like they are doing.  I've been fooled before.  I tell the story in our new
Atlas of a baby who was sent home looking like he was feeding well at
breast:  RNs noted good alert affect, sounds of swallowing, etc.  I noted
the same thing on Day 4 when I evaluated the baby in his home. Second time
mom, experienced breastfeeder, milk already in.  Grandma was a midwife with
great skills.  However baby hadn't stooled in 24 hrs, was still losing
weight, was getting jaundiced.  While I was there, he passed one tiny, dark
poop.  I did a test weight after 20 min at breast well positioned with mom
doing breast compressions, and he wasn't transferring anything!  It doesn't
mean they shouldn't be put to breast.  And it doesn't mean they shouldn't be
fed breastmilk, but I bet you a dollar that the smartest thing you could do
is start pumping that mom to protect her milk supply, because these babies
are not able to stimulate a full milk supply and rarely are able, as
newborns, to access enough milk to grow well.

Grandma told me a neat story about a granny midwife SHE knew who had
practiced midwifery on the frontier.  She shared a story about a rancher
women she'd delivered way back when, whose baby had a cleft.  The woman was
desperately trying to get the baby going, and it was slowly starving to
death, when the granny midwife came up with the idea of putting a spoon in
the baby's mouth upside down while the baby nursed.  In essence, she created
a palatal obturator out of that spoon.  With a fake palate, the baby could
create a little negative pressure and had a surface to flatten the nipple
against in order to milk the breast.  The baby survived and went on to learn
how to nurse cleft and all, so the help at the beginning is and always has
been critical for the infant with a cleft.


Barbara Wilson-Clay BSEd, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates
http://www.lactnews.com

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