Val,

you reported that

<<  I spoke with a
 midwife today who said that the baby appears to not be able to draw
 and hold the nipple in its mouth as the mother has very soft nipples. >>

Very soft nipples?  Well, this is a new one on me!  What a diagnosis, are
mothers' nipples graded hard to soft?!  How I would have been able to keep a
straight face if this was said to me I just don't know.

The baby scoops up a mouthful of breast to breastfeed.  The nipple elicits the
gape and then should make up about a third of the mouthful of breast, the baby
makes a 'teat' out of the breast and not the nipple.  It makes not one jot of
difference to baby that a nipple might be deemed soft by someone who has made
up an extremely strange dotty idea to use as an excuse for things going awry.
Blame the mother's anatomy, that always works well to explain things away.
Midwife is not understanding as to what happens inside the mouth of babes when
they have a well positioned mouthful of breast and how they milk the breast
with the tongue and lower jaw.

Val, I'm venting tonight - not on you  - just the grrrrrrrrr factor that we
all have to hear and witness.

kindest regards to you
Helen Woodman, NCT Breastfeeding Counsellor, UK