Andrew wrote:

>From a medical standpoint, it is better to have a live & "healthy" baby who is
>orally defensive than a sick, intubated baby who does not have the "chance" to
<be orally defensive, if you know what I mean.

Well, of course it is better.  I think we all agree on this.

>That is one reason why I have a hard time seriously accepting some of the
>"psycho-trauma" stuff due to suctioning.

You and others may have a hard time understanding this, but the baby sure
doesn't!  An infant is obviously incapable of telling us with words that he
is refusing to BF because of the horrid experience s/he suffered from due to
suctioning.
I think the point here is to BE CAREFUL (for emphasis - not shouting) when
performing the suctioning.  There is no reason to traumatize the infant any
more than absolutely neccessary.  For some babies, the most gentle of
suctioning will be too much, and that is a risk we sometimes must take.
But, to just go in and suction like crazy and not be as careful and as
gentle as possible to avoid ANY possibiliy of oral aversion is invasive,
rude and disrespectful to the infant.

>Another reason is that when I think about all the "trauma" that an infant
suffers from >being born (albeit natural), it is really hard to seriously
accept that properly-done >suctioning of an infant's naso-oropharyngeal
space, airway and stomach for "real" >medical reasons is somehow going to
cause some sort of weird >psycho-oro-mental-cognitive anguish.  Being born,
however natural, is much more >traumatic than having your nose "snogged."


Two things, the birthing process is a violent one, yes, but with a purpose.
The infant is expected to go through this process and I believe that the
human species expects to go through this inately.  Secondly, we have not
been talking about "properly done" suctioning.  Properly done suctioning,
even when it is medically required to be extensive, should be as
untrauamatic as possible.  Sure there will be some trauma, but when proper
care is taken, it can be drastically minimized.  The problem arises when
someone just goes in suctioning every open orifice without care and without
being gentle, especially when there is no medically sound reason.  Why does
a stuffy infant need his nose "snogged" if he is breathing and BF fine?
Leave him alone.  Let the body learn how to do its job.  Also, tell anyone
(especially someone who can relate feeling to us verbally) forced to have
something shoved into their mouth and down their throat without any way to
protect themselves that their feeling of violation and anger are just
"some sort of weird psycho-oro-mental-cognitive anguish."  You will probably
find their fist in your nose, giving you a weird sort of
pschoy-nasal-mental-cognitive anguish".  ;)  Ever have the "snot" beat out
of you as a kid?  Wasn't that just a bit traumatic?
Anguish is anguish, regardless of the cause - some people are sturdier than
others and can handle traumas better - but if someone is traumatized, who
are we to judge the amount of emotional damage done to them?  Is anyone who
has not been treated roughly (by anyone, for any reason, tho rape and
physical abuse stick in my mind) really qualified to say how someone who has
been abused should feel?  I don't think so.  One can empathise, but cannot
UNDERSTAND.

Jay
climbing off my box so I can breathe - the air is thin up there...
Jay Simpson, CLE
Sacramento (State Capital), California, West Coast, USA
"No Miracles performed here, just a lot of love and hard work."