In a message dated 96-05-15 15:34:37 EDT, you write:

>Mom really wants to
>breastfeed but I am not sure this is a possibility.  I know that nipples are
>not
>necessarily needed for breastfeeding, but this is like trying to latch-on to
>a
>ball, even after a pump has been used.  Any suggestions for correction?
>
>

Melissa,
     I had a case just like this with a young WIC mom.  Things looked really
bad, but she was sooo determined, and that made the difference.  We used a
manual pump in the same way you would use a syringe, and lots of other
methods.  She ended up nursing her son for over a year!!!
     Try syringe and pump, delicate nipple rolls, Hoffman technique, breast
shells (not Soft Shell--I have discovered that they tend to slip off breasts
with absolutely no nipple area to speak of!)--all the tricks we know and
love--but most of all, lots of encouragement.
                                          Debbie Albert, IBCLC