Look up the work of Paula Meier. I heard her speak at a recent conference and it was an eye-opener. A couple of references include: Meier, P. (1988). Bottle and breast feeding: Effects on transcutaneous oxygen pressure and temperature in preterm infants. Nursing Research, 37, pp36-41; and Meier, P and Anderson G. (1987). Responses of small preterm infants to bottle and breast feeding. MCN: American Journal of Maternal-Child Nursing, 12, pp97-105. Hope this helps. Alicia. [log in to unmask] By the way, we are very straight-forward in our family. My child simply said "I want to nurse".