I've been following this thread, and remember the many babies I probably nearly drowned and/or force-fed during the years I worked in nurseries, and also with some of my own kids. 


I'm glad we now make it a point in our WIC project when discussing bottle feeding of either EBM or ABM to sit the baby closer to 90 degrees upright and the bottle much closer to 180 degrees, forget the advertising hype about air in the nipple per se, and explain how this positioning and pausing changes the effect of gravity on the reflexes in the throat during the baby's learning the new skill of coordinating sucking, swallowing and breathing. We tell them it also helps keep the baby familiar with breathing pauses that occur naturally with MER so as lower the risk of breast refusal from flow-rate confusion, and removes the "under Niagra Falls: Help! Can't you see I'm about to choke!" factor (I use that analogy for anti-gravity positioning for OAMER too, comparing it with the different experience of a drinking fountain;-)

One thing I'm sure I remember, and that I don't think I have heard anyone mention is the subject of the temperature of the milk as it effects the flow rate of whatever is in the bottle.  I have not checked recently with silicone nipples, but I remember that in the "olden days", with rubber nipples, the warmer the fluid in the nipple, it somehow changed the diameter and/or "stretchability" of the opening a little bit, and maybe even the viscosity of the fluid itself, so that it sped up the flow quite a bit (actually spurted right out if you got it too warm for comfort when you tested it on your wrist;-), versus comparison of the rate when room temperature and even moreso, refrigerator temperature milk was used. 

(We finally conned parents and grandparents into believing that feeling compelled to heat the bottle was "old-fashioned" and there was no health need for the warm temperature we used to use to heat the bottles up. Actually, all the while we were getting rid of the exceedingly efficient E. Coli incubators that communal bottle warmers turned out to be!!!)

What is the experience of others? Families, especially grandmothers, may have had different experiences.

K. Jean Cotterman RNC-E,IBCLC
WIC Volunteer LC    Dayton OH

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome