I trust term infants to know when they want to eat and when they want to breathe. I never gavage feed (read- force feed) a term infant if they are tachypneic (good way to promote aspiration and indefensible in court as IV fluids are so easy and safe in the USA ). Some infants will have an "easy" tachypnea with a rapid respiratory rate but no increased work of breathing (grunting, retractions). I allow these infants (usually RR 60-100) to go to breast if they wish to. I find the infant will choose breathing over eating every time (unlike some of us adults who would rather eat than breathe!). If an infant is working hard to breathe, they usually have no desire or energy to nurse. Interestingly, I find that nursing (and kangaroo care) often results in a slowing of the respiratory rate! I know of no research that directly addresses these issues, however. Nancy Nancy E. Wight MD, FAAP, IBCLC Neonatologist, Children's Hospital, and Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women Medical Director, Lactation Services, Sharp HealthCare San Diego, CA, USA Email: [log in to unmask] *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html