 Breastfeeding.com recently received a letter of
from a health care provider in London, England concerned about
the technique used in video clips featuring Breastfeeding.com
medical advisor Dr. Jane Morton. Following is the letter of
concern along with a response from Dr. Morton:
Dear Breastfeeding.com
I recently discovered your site and have been very impressed by
the contents and general tone of support for breastfeeding, a
subject dear to my heart! I am a health visitor working in
London, England and I have taken a great interest in
breastfeeding. I offer help, support and advice to new mothers
and am particularly interested in helping them to breastfeed
successfully. I viewed a couple of your video clips last night
and was concerned to see that they show a mother being helped to
feed by the helper handling and holding the baby's head to push
it onto the nipple.
The advice I give is to move the baby to the breast and not
handle the breast at all, other than to support it lightly
underneath, and to hold the baby's shoulders, giving the baby
freedom of movement of its head, so that it can find the nipple
and latch on itself. The National Childbirth Trust (the largest
provider of breastfeeding advisors in this country) also
advocates this method.
The videos I viewed were by Jane Morton. I wonder if it would be
possible for you to comment on this as I would like to recommend
your website unreservedly to the mothers I come into contact with
in my work, but I would not feel able to recommend these videos
from the clips I have seen.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely.
Angela Large
BSc RGN RHV DN
Response from Dr. Jane Morton:
For the many years that I have been teaching women to breastfeed
- 28 years total - I have found it more helpful to mothers and
babies who are having problems if I use a gentle, hands-on
approach. Frequently, a new mother is so tentative about holding
her baby, and so convinced that her baby will know what he or
she is supposed to do to get breastmilk, that before I even see
a mother she has been using a passive approach to initiate
nursing. In fact, frequently for a mother who is having problems
getting her baby positioned at the breast, I will ask her if she
wants me to help her. Usually, the mother feels very relieved to
have the assistance!
To get started, I�ll ask the mother to hold her baby�s
hands, while I hold the baby along his back with a nice tight
"C" at the base of his skull (not a hand on his head),
and my other hand shaping the mothers breast. I then put the
baby on the breast with a perfect latch-on. Commonly, the phase,
"how did you do that?" is the next thing I hear.
Mothers are typically relieved that the baby is no longer crying
and that she is no longer in pain. Everybody usually feels
better. The next step is to teach the mother to do this herself.
I may then show the mother how to hold her breast herself, and
then have her place her hand in back of my hand that supports
the baby�s head. This way I can bring the baby swiftly to the
breast. Many mothers are so anxious about pain that they remain
too tentative to swiftly bring the baby in. The last step, of
course, is to have the mother perform the whole sequence by
herself. Sometimes this is too difficult at first, and I have
the father assume my role. So, for a
while, breastfeeding may be a three-person job! Many of my
fathers are so well informed they could be great lactation
consultants!
You should realize that I began helping women with breastfeeding
before there were lactation consultants or organizations like
the National Childbirth Trust in England, so all of my
experience has been self-taught. If I truly believed there was a
way I could handle a breastfeeding problem just with words and
without helping hands, I would not be so convinced that my
approach is the best one for me. I will add, however, that I am
extremely comfortable with this approach, and I make my mothers
very comfortable with it too. If a lactation consultant feels
uncomfortable or uneasy with this approach for whatever personal
or philosophical reason, it would be best not to use it. Each of
us needs to find our own style and feel comfortable with it.
I sometimes use the following analogy when teaching new mothers
to breastfeed: Someday, about five to six years from now, you
will be teaching your child how to ride a two-wheel bicycle.
When you do, you�ll find yourself holding onto the back of the
bicycle seat and running along beside your child. Even when she
says, "Mom, I can do it myself," you�ll still hold
onto the back of her seat to make sure that she doesn�t tip.
Breastfeeding is also a learned behavior. Some babies and
children need more hands on help than others.
 Dr.
Jane Morton,
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School
of Medicine, is an expert on nursing premature infants as well
as a
member of the Breastfeeding.com medical advisory board. Dr.
Morton has answered several of your breastfeeding
questions. Look for more Q&A forums with Dr. Morton in the future.
Important Disclaimer
This Breastfeeding.com service is designed to help visitors obtain
advice and guidance. You are solely responsible for the outcome of any services and/or
advice you are given. Breastfeeding.com is not responsible for any services and/or
advice given by the consultants, and shall not be liable or responsible to any person or
entity for any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be have been caused, directly or
indirectly by the information or ideas contained, suggested, or referenced. Your
participation in this service is solely at your own risk
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