I feel that on balance, the notion of nipple confusion -
well-established in the UK, despite Chloe Fisher and Sally Inch
regularly explaining that this is a misnomer - has now out-run its
usefulness.

Sometimes, as we all know, when a mother and baby have serious bf
difficulties, the baby does need to be fed elsewhere than on the
breast - preferably with mother's own EBM....all the while ensuring
that the original bf challenge is being worked on, with the right
support and information, of course.

I get many calls from mothers who have been made to feel terrified
that giving the baby EBM from a bottle will finish their hopes of
breastfeeding. They give the baby a cup or a syringe, and by the time
you get to day 5 or 6 (or even earlier) it can be quite difficult to
give the baby large enough quantities this way, and it takes forever.
I have to reassure them that bottles do not have to result in a
non-breastfed baby, and explain to them the whole confusion over
confusion.

A bottle at least has the advantage of allowing the mother and baby
to relax and enjoy the feed. It is over quickly, and she can move on.
It is not a 'procedure', but has some echoes of breastfeeding and
babies can usually manage to do it successfully. Mothers too learn
how to do it quickly, so at least they are involved (I know  mothers
learn to use a cup and a syringe, but not (in my experience) so
easily).

One result of the confusion over nipple confusion is that more than
once, I have seen/been told of totally unnecessary supplementation
with formula, which is somehow 'all right' because the baby was given
formula in a cup.....: (

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc
Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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