Fiona:

I don't tend to touch women's breasts when assisting with latch. I've had so
many complain about some nurse "grabbing" the breast to shove the baby on,
to show her how to express etc.

When do I touch? With permission, to check a plugged duct, mastitis, lumps;
to check for compressibility of breast/nipple inversion; to show her how to
hand express if she's having a really hard time following what I'm doing on
my knitted breast.

I also frequently will put my hand over the mother's hand (while standing
behind or to the side) to help with pulling on if she's really tentative
(usually because she's got such sore nipples she's flinching when pulling
on). I have no problem with this amount of hands on--hands don't tend to
have the same emotional baggage as breasts! Plus it helps the mum see how a
slightly more assertive pull can bring more breast into the baby's mouth.

Leslie Ayre-Jaschke, BEd, IBCLC
Peace River, Alberta, Canada