< a hospital based LC group in
a local hospital which routinely has new moms place grape jelly on their
nipples so that "the flavor will encourage the baby to latch on">

What's the matter with these wierdos? Afraid to TOUCH the mother's
breasts and show her how to express a little colostrum?

However, I came across 2 abstracts recently that approach the subject of
suckling stimulation from a different angle.

Blass, EM, Telcher MH Suckling, Science, vol 210, no 4465 (1980 Oct 3):
15-22

This was a study of suckling behaviour in newborn rats which showed the
original suckling was initiated by amniotic fluid deposited on the
mothers during parturition, and subsequent suckling was stimulated by
saliva deposited by the infant rats.

I suppose the researchers watched closely enough to know it was the
infants' saliva and not the moms'. Does anyone know it rats clean
themselves by licking the way cats and dogs seem to lick their abdomens?
As you can see, I'm not much of an animal person!

But it makes you wonder about unmedicated human infants immediately after
birth crawling up to their mom's nipples. I had heard that they were
drawn by the odor of perspiration and natural skin oils there, but this
is the first time it dawned on me just WHY  there could be a connection.
Of course! the baby has been drinking amniotic fluid for MONTHS!

Why not be attracted to something that's perhaps a little salty! (At
least, I always thought it smelled sort of salty) AT LEAST, I know it
doesn't smell or taste anything like grape jelly!

Maybe a subject for someone's research? (Saliva, or weakly salty liquid,
sort of like a part of, or a partial method, of rebirthing?Would it
stimulate salivation?)

Another abstract along a similar line:
Smotherman WP, Robinsin SR   Prenatal experience with milk: fetal
behavior and endogenous opioid systems, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral
Reviews, vol. 16, no. 3 (1992 Fall): 351-64

Last line reads:
"Study of milk-directed behavior in the fetus may promote better
understanding of the special needs of preterm human infants."

Grape jelly (or formula) indeed! Humph! (or ARRRGH!)

K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC
Dayton, Ohio, USA

___________________________________________________________________
Get the Internet just the way you want it.
Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month!
Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html