Camping on to Yaffa's explanation..... Bottle nipples don't usually reach far enough back, and babies can also often control nipple placement without the mother realizing it. The finger, on the other had, senses what that baby is doing, can be placed and held in the proper place, can resist efforts to move it, and can also be wonderfully sensitive to baby's needs and reactions. With a gag-sensitive baby, you can start a little bit shallow and work gradually up to the right placement with much more sensitivity and accuracy than any other instrument. And, as Yaffa pointed out, it is warm and smells more like mom, though it may not be as soft and cushy..... (these babies are already manipulating the soft and cushy and need a little "firm" guidance to get back on track). Whether finger fed or finger pacified, this does help baby learn to accept more breast tissue further back, which is usually the goal. I would like to add that this is used only when baby does not respond well to positional and latch-strategy changes that attempt to address this problem in a more natural fashion. Like childbirth, intervention is best used sparingly on an as-needed basis, and not automatically. :-) -Lisa ****************************************************************************** Lisa A. Marasco, IBCLC / [log in to unmask] International Board Certified Lactation Consultant / [log in to unmask] ******************************************************************************