Re: Joan Fisher's query about negatrive experiences. I see the head pushing all the time. Whenever I have asked mother where she learned that, she mentions that a nurse in the hospital where she gave birth "helped" get baby on the breast in this manner. Usually I am involved when the baby has been so traumatized by this (would YOU want to nurse if you couldn't breathe?!) that he/she is now refusing the breast completely. I have found that extinguishing the negative reaction is most rapidly done if mother ceases trying to get baby to breast and cup or finger-feeds baby for a bit of time. Then I ask her to climb in the tub and let baby crawl up her trunk to breast. Once baby latches on in tub, getting him/her to do so outside the watery (womb-like warmth) environment is much easier. Worst case took 3 weeks for baby to come around. But it also has been resolved in 2 days, also. Rnage, I think, relates to how much baby has been pushed into breast and mother's willingness to unlearn that technqiue which appears to work, but really sets baby up for aversive response. I would love to hear from others about this situation. It is something I try to mention whenever I do talks about early breastfeeding asssitance. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% %% "We are all faced with a series of great %% %% opportunities brilliantly disguised as %% %% impossible situations" - definition of a %% %% lactation consulting service. %% %% Kathleen G. Auerbach, PhD, IBCLC %% %% [log in to unmask] Homewood, Illinois USA %% %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%