If a mother expresses milk and then feeds it in a bottle, doesn't it
possibly reduce the production of antibodies beneficial to the child?  For
example, if the baby is sick, doesn't contact between the mouth and the
nipple help to insure exposure of the mother and productionof the
appropriate antibodies?  Obviously, the mother can be exposed in other ways
(mouth to mouth and hand to mouth contact, for example), but mouth to nipple
multiple times a day seems surer to me.

Have I got this all wrong?

Margaret K.K. Radcliffe               [log in to unmask]
Dept. of Mining & Minerals Engr.
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA