Kay Hoover and I have a picture of a paladai in our up-coming book.  It is
essentially a small cup with a pour spout -- it looks like a tiny  gravy
tureen.  In my opinion, it combines the features of a spoon (with regard to
accommodating the small size of an infant's mouth, and better "directional"
control of the fluid) and a cup (with the capacity to manage larger volumes
without having to re-fill so often).  Would it, in my opinion, teach
breastfeeding skills?  No.  You learn to breastfeed by breastfeeding.  This
is a swallowing-based feeding device, not a sucking (via a combination of
compression and suction) based device.  It is a way to get food into a baby,
and prob. a better designed device for that than a cup.  It is prob. easier
to keep clean in countries which lack access to plumbing than a bottle teat
would be.

 Any alternate feeding device has the potential to re-condition the baby's
feeding-related expectations, creating the condition commonly referred to as
"confusion."  Alternate feeding devices should be chosen on a case-by-case
basis depending on a variety of factors which include:  the reason the baby
needs alternate feeding, how long the baby will require alternate feeding,
access, cost, cleanliness, parent's ability to tolerate its use, the extent
to which the device can be used therapeutically to improve the oral skills
necessary to transition back to breastfeeding, etc.

If an infant has low tone in the oral-motor muscular structures, it doesn't
make sense not to exercise them with some sort of sucking.  Just swallowing
succeeds in feeding the baby, which is very important, but it tends not to
improve the muscular functioning as well as also encouraging some sucking.

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BSEd, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates, Austin, Texas
http://www.jump.net/~bwc/lactnews.html

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html