About the Calma teat and some of the posts I have been reading about it, I must respond. I am not a regular poster, mainly an observer and a clinician who works with thousands of mother-baby couplets a year in a busy metropolitan hospital. The fact is, some mothers really do need to use a bottle. They work or they have the flattest nipples on the planet and the baby hates the nipple shield. The problem is not about Medela developing a bottle nipple. The problem is that Medela attempted to make it seem that you can't breastfeed without using a bottle and a pump. Well, the fact is, the majority of mothers can't breastfeed without using a bottle and a pump. They have to go back to work and they need to know their babies can be fed when they're gone. It's a simple as that. 

Remember the first rule of being a lactation consultant: Feed the baby. Babies need to eat. We want them to breastfeed, but not all babies can. This is a fact. We want them to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months, but not all mothers can stay home from work for 6 months. And even if they did, if they tried to introduce a bottle at six months, it's highly unlikely the baby would take it. So whether we like it or not, babies will get bottles. There's no way around it unless the mother has the luxury of staying home while husband brings home enough money for living expenses. Medela seems to have tried to create a bottle (and honestly, to make money from its sale) that will allow a baby to go  back and forth between breast and bottle more easily in order to PRESERVE BREASTFEEDING. They are a business meeting a consumer need. Nothing more. Whether or not this bottle nipple actually helps babies go back and forth is yet to be determined.

We cannot sit back and make unrelenting judgments on mothers who choose to give bottles of breastmilk! Nor on companies who try to meet a consumer need. That's not what our profession is about. We support the mothers in their decisions and hope to somehow help them to reach their goals. Some of the posts written about this new nipple puts us all in a very bad light. It is as if we cannot possibly see that there may be two sides to this coin. We lose credibility as a profession if we spout off derogatory messages about Medela or any company that has truly helped many, many thousands of mothers continue to breastfeed through difficult situations.

I have no stock in Medela and never will. I have never tried this nipple and don't know if I ever will recommend it. But just because Medela tried to meet a real consumer need (i.e., not create one that didn't already exist), they shouldn't be crucified. 

Just my two cents,
Terri Lear, PhD(c), IBCLC

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