I would just like to clarify why I said I was "getting tired of the
whole thing", thing becoming a discussion of cup feeding in premature
babies.  I hope I did not suggest that the discussion was futile.

The reason is that it seemed to me we were rehashing the same old things
over and over.  Geoff says that "silent aspiration" might occur with cup
feeding.  Others rebut by asking how he knows it does not occur with
bottle feeding. Geoff says yes, but continues to damn cup feeding
without damning bottle feeding.  Geoff uses arguments about infant
development to rebut observations of others.  Others point out that
observations by fluoroscopy are not necessarily more valid than "casual
observation".  There is a lot of discussion about feeding and reflexes
and development based on observation and fluoroscopic studies of bottle
feeding.  Which is like studying normal walking by studying people
walking with a casts on their legs.

So.  Let's get off the pot.  Let's do the studies.  But, I would like to
point out that the studies apparently being done in Geoff's institution
are not acceptable to me, for one, if they are not being done with the
collaboration of someone knowledgeable about breastfeeding and about cup
feeding prematures.

As for me, I will continue recommending cup feeding for prematures.  But
as always, I will be asking why these prematures cannot be at the breast
instead of cup feeding.

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC