From my old days of research with rats...  I believe that newborn rats' stomachs would *have* to fill up if force-fed down the back of the throat as described since rats do not possess a gag reflex or the ability to regurgitate.  That's one characteristic that makes them great animals to use for intake studies!  At least human babies can spit up when given too much!

Linda Anderson, LLLL, AAPL for NJ, BA
former research scientist at National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control

Karleen wrote:
This research is in relation to newborn rats but I wonder whether a similar mechanism might be involved in babies.

"pups younger than 10 days of age that were repeatedly provided with milk from a cannula placed at the back of the tongue continued to consume the milk until they were unable to breathe  because of severe distension of the gut. ..."Get more from the Web.  FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com

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