>
> Question: A midwife friends works a few weeks, several times a year in the 
> Dominican Republic. Where she works, BF is the norm. But the position the 
> mothers use is very hands "off." The baby essentially rests in mother's 
> lap and she bends over to provide the breast. There appears to be obvious 
> tension on the nipple/areola due to positioning.


I wonder if the latch is actually better than we think. In that position, 
the baby is probably able to tip his head back and get a good asymmetrical 
position and that may be why it works for them.

I have a sister who is ten years younger than me, who spent many years 
watching me and my other sisters breastfeed at all kinds of family events 
before she had her own children. I noticed when she had her first baby (and 
again with her second) that she put her baby to the breast in this very 
casual way - baby in her lap (often sitting cross-legged) or loosely 
supported with her arm, occasionally using a finger to help with 
positioning. I wouldn't say there was much bending over, but it was 
certainly very "hands off." She brushed her breast against the baby's mouth, 
he latched himself on. At first I was concerned that she might have 
problems, but I restrained myself from commenting, and she did not have any 
pain and her babies (who nursed for 4 plus years each) gained well. When I 
first saw Rebecca Glover's "Follow Me, Mum" video I thought - oh, that looks 
like my sister nursing.

Teresa Pitman 

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