I am following with great interest this thread on when & how the use
of AIM is appropriate.

I was struck by what Kathy wrote (below).  I *do* live in fear of
nipple confusion.  I realize that "nipple confusion" is a murky term
and can be used as a catch-all for various fixable problems.
However, I believe there is some part of it that is a real problem
and a sometimes-unsurmountable barrier to breastfeeding.
(Second-hand experience: a friend, who I know to be very committed to
and informed about breastfeeding, "failed" at breastfeeding because
of nipple confusion, despite the assistance of IBCLCs and the support
of LLL.)

Isn't one "nipple-confused" baby too many if it means the end of
breastfeeding?  True nipple confusion (as opposed to other feeding
difficulties that might get lumped under the term) is avoidable,
after all.

Margaret
LLLL in Longmont, Colorado



Kathy Boggs <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>I feel that we live in dire fear of nipple confusion when it's not really
>necessary.  If a slow flow bottle is chosen (our center likes the Haberman),
>if baby is encouraged to open wide before bottle is offered and if mother is
>provided a hospital grade pump to maintain supply, we've had very few
>instances where infant has not been able to get back to breast if s/he was
>latching at one time.

<snip>

>More worrisome to me than nipple confusion is loss
>of milk supply... this is sometimes not fixable. Of course we will closely
>follow this mother and baby.
>
>Whew...didn't mean for this to be so long.
>
>Kathy Boggs, RN, IBCLC
>Mountain View, CA

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