Absolutely should supply be supported and protected, but to say that ALL cleft affected babies cannot create suction is not accurate. Again, it depends upon the baby and the size/position of the cleft.

I don't think I'm hiding my head in the sand, I've assisted with more than 24 cleft-affected babies in the area with varying degrees of "mother-defined sucess."

Best wishes,
Sam Doak

---- Kershaw Jane <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I don't understand the comment about "throwing out cleft-affected
> babies".  Milk supply is the real issue.  If baby can get adequate
> volume because mother has MORE than adequate supply, there is not an
> issue.  Research has shown that suction IS an issue in supporting
> supply, especially if there is low supply to start with or supply fades
> because of failure to drain the breast to an adequate degree.  An
> artificial baby may be necessary to keep supply above average so that
> baby gets enough at the breast and if mom is programmed high, it is
> possible for baby to get enough without supplementers.  BUT you can't
> hide your head in the sand.  I have seen this happen too many times
> where mother's supply is not protected in all sorts of situations.  It's
> important to both be supportive and realistic, as has been discussed
> many times on lactnet.
>

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