I have received about 8 personal requests for a reference for my remarks about test weighing (the study which demonstrated in a blind design that evaluators miscalculated intake by observational methods, and which demonstrated that the BabyWeigh was acceptably accurate for test weighing when compared to the Smart Scale). The ref. is: Meier, P: A New Scale for In-Home Test-Weighing for Mothers of Preterm and High Risk Infants, J Hum Lact 1994, 10(3):163. The bib. at the end of this article contains other medical refs for the same subject, several of which I think would be persuasive for those of you whose NICUs are still guessing. I repeat my mantra: the compromised baby wants and needs to nurse, but often CAN'T nurse, or can't nurse WELL. This is generally temporary, but the management strategies have to be formulated on accurate assessment of the baby's capabilities. That allows intelligent supplementation, choice of appropriate alternate feeding methods, and the development of a feeding plan that protects the option to breastfeed. In this way, the baby is protected, the milk supply is protected and there is a snowballs chance in a warm climate that everybody can ultimately get to normal. *********************************************** 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