Hi All,

I checked out the Infant Advantage site. Gag. IMHO, this is mostly another
way to make mothers obsolete. Co-sleeping and Kangaroo Care does the same
thing at far less cost.

BUT - they have a point. This kind of environment DOES help premature babies
who weren't supposed to be born yet, by "simulating" womb-like activities.
However, they are asking the wrong questions, possibly for political
reasons.

Instead of "how can we simulate the womb artificially", the question asked
should be "how can we make sure the moms can stay with their babies
continuously until these babies are sturdy enough to go home?" Do we need
in-hospital hotel suites for parents, complete with office equipment,
nutritious meals, exercise rooms, and maid service? If this society thinks
it's important to repair computers and copy machines on site, and can offer
24-hour home care services to some very sick, bedridden people, why can't we
find a way to do the same thing for babies born too soon? What if  every
dollar going into "womb substitutes" went into preventing Preterm births in
the first place?  (One can dream....)

But I digress. Just like all "tools," this device may have a legitimate
market for therapeutic use. I fear its misuse and overuse more than I object
to the device itself.

Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre
Dayton, OH USA
http://www.bflrc.com