Angela writes: "If a baby is reluctant to suck on a mother's breast, she stimulates the suck spot with her finger until the baby starts to suck on her finger for a few minutes. Then she places baby to breast. Sometimes this works, sometimes not. I cannot find anything in the literature which suggests this practice. I was under the impression that anything other than mother's breast in the baby's mouth should be discouraged. HELP! I am confused by this and want to educate my colleague but want to make sure I am accurate in my education/practice before I say anything." Also, Pamela commented on a baby who was confused by sucking on Dad's knuckle. This is not an exact science! That is one hitch to trying to have totally evidence-based practice. Each mom/baby couplet, heck-even each feeding with an individual couplet, can be quite different. What works with one doesn't work with another. There are general guidelines, and in some cases some difinite proven principles, that we need to use as the basis of our practice. For example, the fact that anything except mom's breast in baby's mouth carries some risk of confusion and the possible sequelae of that. Therefore, we first try approaches that avoid putting our fingers in a baby's mouth. However, sometimes we cannot get the info we need or influence what a baby does without doing so. Angela's colleague has an approach that can work with some babies, but with others it might contribute to the problem. As a result, it probably should not be the first intervention when a baby is reluctant to latch. However, after other approaches have not worked and if baby is going longer and longer time without some progress, then it might be the answer. I think of it as a heierarchy of interventions or the "A" list, then if that doesn't work we go to the "B" list (and sometimes even further down the alphabet!). It is important for parents to understand this also. Frequently when they hear different suggestions from various people they see it as comflicting info. Sometimes it is, but other times it is suggesting of alternate approaches, especially if the first approach isn't working. When discussing getting a baby to take a bottle as when mom is approaching her return to work date, I usually say, "If what you're trying isn't working, try the opposite! For example, some babies will take food any way they can get it when they are hungry while with others the hungrier they are, the less willing they are to try something unfamiliar." Winnie *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [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