>parents need to know this information because it helps them understand why
babies need to stay at the breast for more than 10 minutes each side. This
information came in handy this past week when working with a mom with a slow
gaining baby, short frequent feeds,
>giving water (!) and lots of pacifier.

Remember that babies DON'T need to stay at the breast for more than 10
minutes each side if they are being fed often.  Just as you don't need to
spend as much time eating if you are eating 12 meals a day vs. just two.  A
baby who is not "empty" or "starving" because they haven't eaten for 2-3-4
hours does NOT need to stay at the breast for 10 minutes each side.  All
these time rules drive me nuts.  This wouldn't be a problem if people would
just let babies nurse whenever they wanted.

In the case above, I suspect the water and pacifier were the culprits in the
slow weight gain, NOT the short frequent feeds.  This mother should have
been praised for nursing her baby whenever it wanted, not told to try to
keep the baby on the breast for longer than 10 minutes.

Sigh.  Yet another example of fixing a problem that we have created, rather
than preventing it.

Kathy Dettwyler

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