From: coleb Tue May 28, 1996 -- 10:32:22 AM To: [log in to unmask]@ Melissa - We have all had to deal with these "experienced" nurses in the hospital who think they know everything about breastfeeding just because they've worked there so long. Ask your nurse how many patients she has seen after discharge?? How does she know nipple confusion does not happen? I asked that to a post-partum nurse once and she had the gall to say "What happens to the patient after discharge is not my responsibility." And I said "It ABSOLUTELY IS your responsibility!! We are providing education to the mom so she will feel competent to care for this infant at home. If the nurse does not care about the outcome of her teaching, there is something drastically wrong there. And if nipple confusion only happens to 10% of the baby population, that is one mom out of 10 having to deal with it, and *I* was that mom. That's just not fair that a nurse caused me that problem! In this situation, I feel like the protector of mom and baby. Although I don't have any written references, there are a couple of things I have used successfully with nurses. 1. Compare 'drinking from a funnel with her head back while someone is pouring water into it' to bottle feeding. Then compare drinking with a straw to breastfeeding. Which method is more comfortable? Which puts the control on the drinker instead of the feeder? I have demonstrated that on nurses (preferably someone who doesn't believe in nipple confusion) to show the difference with results that include a good laugh. 2. I have also used pictures of the baby's tongue movement under the breast while breastfeeding and behind the nipple to be able to stop the milk flow IN ORDER TO BREATHE while bottle feeding. This only works if the person is willing to listen to the "other side." As far as using water to fill a newborn up. . . a newborn's stomach is no bigger than a golf ball. The small amount of colostrum is plenty to make a baby feel comfortable. If the baby wants to suck, let him suck at the breast. It's maybe something different if the baby is ravenous the first 24 hours, but in my experience that is the rare case. Nipple shields . . . Babies have been breastfeeding for thousands of years. What did they do before nipple shields (or rubber nipples) were invented. Not everyone could afford a wet nurse. Hope that helps! Barb Cole, RN, IBCLC