Nancy & All,

I will leave it to someone else to prove that it affects the milk. But I can
speak for the benefits to the mom of special pumping (at least in my case).

I was not informed of the option of double pumping when my son was in NICU. I
single pumped alternating breasts and using massage/compression on each breast
as I alternated. The benefits I feel I gained from this were ...
1) Doing the only thing I could for my baby. The nurses and doctors got     to
do everything else. The pumping helped me stay connected
2) The pumping frequency and massage did make a big difference in the volume I
was able to pump. (again no one told me what to expect or how much a baby ate.
By 3 wks pp I was pumping 8oz/breast q 2hrs)
3)The ritual of special pumping methods is very soothing and comforting. In
our society there is a sorely missed lack of ritual.  The ritual of pumping a
certain way enabled me to de-stress in a Very stressful situation and refocus
on what I was doing and why.

You said "Why place an extra burden on already burdened Moms of preemies?
Because maybe the mom doesn't feel that it is an extra burden. It is something
very specific that the mom can do to help her baby in a situation where the
mom is feeling very helpless.

Just my $.02

Cheryl L Tompkins CLC
Phoenix AZ USA