>I talk with mothers about GOOD latch, and explain that I mean 'comfortable
>and effective' when I say 'good'.  There are some features we know to look
>for, or some of us know, anyway, but the bottom line is the answer to 'does
>it work?'

Ah, exactly!  A good latch is one that's comfortable for both parties and
transfers milk well.  So by definition, a "correct" or "optimal" latch can't
*not* make a difference, assuming normal anatomy of mom and baby and normal
abilities.  If we say a "correct" latch didn't help, then I'd say whatever
we were considering "correct"... isn't.

Though come to think of it, there's the issue of needing *multiple*
"correct" components for comfort, and if any one of them isn't there, maybe
the comfort's not there.  A study might conclude, say, that cheek touching
breast doesn't matter (because it didn't make a difference to comfort), when
in fact it *does* matter, but the baby also has to have a wide mouth.
Followed by the "but not for every mother and baby" clause.  I can see why
we're short on latch studies...

But then, this is basically animal behavior, which is a field based on
*observation*, not research.  No one tries to make a chipmunk behave in a
certain way, though it might be possible, after observing many chipmunks, to
know when one's behaving abnormally.  The difference with us is we strip
mother and baby of their normal behaviors, and we're trying to learn enough
about those normalcies to recontruct them after the fact while respecting
the variations in normal that would have occurred if we hadn't messed.  Far
better, as Rachel points out, not to strip them in the first place.  Sigh.
--
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC  Ithaca, NY
www.wiessinger.baka.com

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