I think that finger feeding is best used in two situations:

1. a sleepy baby who needs to be woken up (I won't go into the various
reasons he might need to be woken up).

2. to prepare a baby who is refusing the breast to take the breast.

Thus, in my opinion, the question of hygeine does not come up.  It is
the mother who should be doing it.  For a baby who refuses the breast,
finger feeding is not the last resort because he won't latch on after a
hour of trying, but rather to get him settled, to get him sucking
properly, and then get him onto the breast.  It often works.

When the baby is sleepy, the finger can be insinuated into his mouth
even if he is asleep, and he will start sucking, and then probably wake
up as he gets expressed milk or sugar water.  Once he is awake, he can
be tried on the breast.

All other reasons for finger feeding are probably less than ideal.  I
believe babies can begin to prefer the finger just as in the post.

I hope this covers the questions.

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC