Yael, you're outlining a phenomenon that is widespread.

I have heard Chloe Fisher and Mike Woolridge  talk about this, and CF has
written about it in one of the midwifery journals (maybe MW too). They  are
irritated that their valuable work on 'finish the first breast first' has
been translated as 'only ever feed on one side' and 'the baby has to be on
X minutes or he won't get the hindmilk'.

I come across the 'only feed on one side' less than I did, so maybe it is
running its course.

But the worries about hindmilk are still alive and well. And I regularly
come across mothers who have ben told by their HPs that it is normal for
feed for hours on end without the baby ever being content.

I think it is a lack of understanding how bf works, and a lack of
willingness to give up rules that help HPs feel safe and authoritative.

The 'feeding hours on end even though the baby is miserable is fine' notion
comes from the idea that breastfeeding 'on demand' is a rule  -  I'd like
to know who invented *that* phrase (was it Dr Spock?) ....so inappropriate.

The other one that gets distorted is the stuff about positioning. HPs now
know that positioning is important, and can avoid soreness.  But if a
mother is sore, the HP will often 'check' her positioning and say 'it looks
fine'...and leaves it at that. I think we've discussed this before. The HP
does not know what to look for, and when to start looking (ie from before
the start of the feed).  If the baby looks more or less as if it's got the
nipple in the mouth, then, well, hey, that's ok.....nothing wrong with
positioning : (

A basic understanding of how bf works, and how to recognise when it's not
working, is being missed, I think.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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