Yes,
I have also found that touching the baby's face can be very distracting -
especially the first few days in the hospital - but I have found that later
on, mothers seem to develop a habit of doing this.

So it may be that they have found it helpful later on - when baby may need
to be touched to keep him or her "on track".  In the WHO video on Favella
Hospital in the Philippines, the nurses and the moms all tap on  the baby's
cheek.  The narrator explains this is a custom there...


Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, IBCLC, LLLL
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Project Director - Proyecto Lacta - Puerto Rico
http://netdial.caribe.net/~prlacta/
Lactancia Materna '98 - La Mejor Inversion