Hi Fiona,

I am a real hands-on "helper".  Maybe this is my medical training.  It
does save time, I think.

I think the hands on approach is a must for a baby who does not latch
on.  Sometimes they latch on once, and they never forget how to do it
again.  So it is really worthwhile getting the baby on.  Even if the
mother does not get it right away at home, she knows the baby is
capable of it, and that keeps her going.

I also find it is helpful for the mother with sore nipples, again, to
show her that feeding can be painless, or at least much less painful.
And I think there is a way a whole "gestalt" of feeling a baby go to
the breast in a different (and, one hopes) better way.

One question.  Why are Fiona's posts almost always the last in any
digest?  Coincidence?  Conspiracy?  Just because she is Down Under?

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC