Karen said "But if a mother plans to combine breast and bottle (with EBM or AIM), I can help the mother intro bottle-feeding behaviors that are more compatible with maintaining lactation and long-term BF." Karen, I have no real problem with the above. When I was referring to bottle feeding in my post on initiation and duration, I was referring to formula feeding. In the hospital formula feeding is rampant and just about every mom uses some formula prior to d/c. A few do practice exclusive bf. For the most part this formula use is totally unnecessary from a health/medical point of view. Many moms have unrealistic expectations and beliefs about combining breastfeeding and formula feeding from day one. Virtually every mom in my community does regular bottle feeding. Often it is w/ ebm and sometimes they combine breastmilk and formula use. The main reason is back to work issues but also many moms are mortified to bf in public and regularly use bottles when out or even when they have visitors. I do strive to promote exclusive human milk feeding in normal situations. Multiples are a special situation but I would still encourage and try to facilitate exclusive or as close to that as possible. Ultimately the mother has the final say. There is much much education and cultural changes to be done in the hospital envt and the community at large. Laurie Wheeler, IBCLC, MN, RN New Orleans Louisiana, s.e. USA _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] 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