Hi, Ruth: I've been using techniques similar to Tina Smilie's for the past 25 years and they work! Why do they work? Because breastfeeding is a hormone driven process that was designed by Mother Naure, just like sex and childbirth (when was the last time you heard someone complain or resist taking their clothes off in preparation for sexual intercourse?!). When a mom and baby are skin-to-skin, hormone levels in both mom and the baby skyrocket immediately on contact. Probably the most important hormone in this process is oxytocin, which helps get mom's milk flowing and which helps the baby's brain organize the steps to breastfeeding. Even if the baby is laying on mom's chest sleeping, his brain is busy building new synapses and hardwiring itself for breastfeeding. Smell is also extremely important in the breastfeeding process - both mom and baby need to be able to smell each other. Studies have been done which show that permanent brain wave patterns take place in both the mom and baby's brains. There is lots of fascinating reading available on the "science" of love/bonding/breastfeeding. Looking at this within the perspective of the hormonal chemistry of breastfeeding process makes total sense. Pam Hirsch, RN,BSN,CLC Clinical Lead, Lactation Services Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital Barrington, IL USA *********************************************** 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(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html