Katie Allison Granju asked for credible cites re: nipple
confusion. Will the mother be swayed by these? If your
professional advice is not enough, then I doubt
references will be. In my experience, the best you can
do is present the mother with the facts: that some
babies become nipple confused, which leads to
problems when mother returns. (LLLI has a good
pamphlet on this topic.) Some babies could care less,
and go from breast to bottle (and back) smoothly.
These babies are the ones who make "nipple
confusion" frustrating to explain.

Of more concern, IMO, is the effect of mother's
absence to her baby. This is traumatic to an infant,
who does not understand that mother is away
temporarily. Out-of-sight means gone for good to
babies. I hope that whomever is caring for the baby is
prepared to go the extra mile; I hope the mother
understands she will need to express her milk often
while away; and I hope she is prepared to deal with a
baby that may be very stressed by the time she
returns from her vacation. I think nipple confusion
pales by comparison...

Good luck to all, in any case.

Margery Wilson, IBCLC