The Rush conference (Feeding and Swallowing Disorders - Great book for those who
can't catch the conference) showed videotapes of babies breastfeeding and we
could hear the swallows through a stethoscope.  It seems like another tool we
should learn to use.  Of course, we will first need to listen to many babies who
swallow perfectly normally so that we can learn to discriminate those who have a
disorder which may need to be referred to an OT or PT.

No, I don't want to be an OT or PT or to take the jobs away - just like suck
assessments I think that only by seeing  (and now hearing) the normal over and
over again can we learn to recognize the abnormal.    Luckily I work at a
hospital and see lots of normal babies - when I was an LC in private practice -
I rarely saw "normal" - everyone I saw was having problems.  Thank heavens I had
been an LLLL for 11 years and had seen lots of normal first!

Happy Easter to all - to the beach we go again!

Jeanette Panchula, BA-SW,  LLLL, RN, IBCLC
Puerto Rico
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