Rachel wrote, in response to my question about use of the term "PTSD": <Jean, I share your hesitation to label it in what could be an inflammatory way. > It occurred to me that it would be possible to express it to the parents a little more lightly (no offense intended to any ex-military folk). In describing a baby's behavior of not responding positively to the stimulus of the breast in the first few days, we could observe that "he has been through a lot (birth and subsequent interventions) and acts as if he's sort of 'shell-shocked' . Maybe what he needs is a little more R & R (rest and recreation) lying next to you skin to skin." I believe the term "shell-shocked" grew out of WW I, (no, I wasn't around then! Came on the scene 12 years later, and as a child, heard the term used:-). The term was later replaced by psychiatrists observing altered behavior of some combatants in more recent wars, and observers and survivors of trauma in general, thus the more general term "PTSD". A Native American saying goes "War makes warriors crazy." I understand there are ancient tribal rituals to help them heal from their psychic trauma, and these have been more successful with healing than anything other ethnic groups do for their troubled soldiers. "Therapeutic touch" is big in professional nursing circles. If only someday some nurse researchers could tie these threads together. This could help more hospital nurses focus on a new paradigm of "healing rituals" like early and sustained skin-to-skin contact with parents, face-gently-in-contact-with-breast, massage, humming lullabyes, etc. We nurses seem to like interventions. If we could convince hospital nurses that these are truly interventions which must begin early, as soon after birth as possible, it might dissuade them from over conscientiously resorting to later, forceful, desparation actions that have no supporting research to prove any value and often create more problems than they solve. Jean ********************* K. Jean Cotterman RNC, IBCLC Dayton, Ohio USA *********************************************** 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