Greetings to all LactNet members. I am a student LC, just finishing the Breastfeeding Support Consultants course. I have a few questions relating to feeding premature infants. The first relates to bovine-based human milk fortifiers. Do these fortifiers, which I understand are used to increase protein, calcium and phosphorus levels in preterm human milk, cause the same types of problems for children with allergies or who are prone to be lactose-intolerant that feeding standard artifical baby milks to a healthy, full term infant might cause? (This stems from Lawrence, p. 406-7). Who is doing research on this topic besides the formula companies? How much per ounce does lacto-engineered human-milk based fortifers cost? Where is it available (on the East coast)? The second question concerns the use of nipple/breast shields. I am wondering how a soft, pliable breast shield is helpful for a pre-term infant who has trouble retaining the human nipple in his mouth during a feed. I presume that it is something firm for him to latch onto. Yet this same infant who has a suck too weak to breastfeed directly on the breast can consume adequate volumes of milk through the shield. How can he do this. I thought breastfeeding through the shield was more difficult that doing so at the 'bare' breast. (Riordan and Auerbach, p. 272 generated this question). Thanks for your help.