Even in countries where pumps are readily available, some women prefer to hand express, and I have worked with numerous mothers who simply won't let down their milk to a pump but can express ample amounts of milk by hand. Most recently we had a mother of twins who couldn't stand the barn feeling she got when she heard the motor of the pump, but who managed with hand expression to bring in a full supply for her twenty-nine weekers, and maintain it until they were able to suckle at the breast. I've also seen some fierce nipple fissures at the base of the areola which made both suckling and pumping impossible, and one mother who managed to heal by using hand expression for two weeks, during which time her baby gained by leaps and bounds on nothing but her mother's milk. If women are told that they won't be able to bring in or maintain a full supply by hand expression, the chances that they will fail are increased. Likewise those who are told that pumping inevitably leads to a tapering down of supply. Bottom line: frequent enough stimulation by whatever method mother prefers is the most effective. Rachel Myr who had children in the days of the double cylinder pump, which was a great incentive to become expert at hand expression :-) Kristiansand, Norway *********************************************** 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 email list is powered by LISTSERV (R). There is only one LISTSERV. To learn more, visit: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html