Alicia:  You're welcome...I'd say your approach follows the same line that I
have been using.

"> Chris:  Thanks for your well-thought-out response about pumping too
early.
> What's your opinion about mother hand-expressing gently and finger-feeding
> spoonfuls of colostrum to the non-latching baby?  It would seem to me that
> this, along with skin-to-skin and nuzzling, etc, may not have the same
> negative effect on mother's confidence that pumping might have.  In some
> cases, I think it may help her gain confidence since she can feed the
> precious colostrum to the baby (and avoid hypoglycemia, jaundice, etc).  I
> have learned a lot from your posts.  Regards, Alicia Dermer, MD, IBCLC."

IMO, Hand pumping (if instructed--I use Marmet's tech with the LLL tear off)
and finger feeding or even dripping the colostrum onto/down the breast is
far better because it improves skin-to-skin and helps the confidence factor
by not relying on a pump.  I'm sure this will ignite a firestorm though...it
would here
locally.  We seem to have two camps here--very interventionist with little
faith in human function and totally laissez faire (sp?) where nothing but
natural goes.  Hopefully, I fall somewhere in the middle, but
self-evaluation is tough.
Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC    [log in to unmask]
mom, wife, educator, lactation consultant, researcher, author, organic
gardener, photographer, lapidary creator, lousy cleaner.

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