Heather wrote,

<< It is not, surely, an ideal start to bf. I do hope it won't gain currency
 as being the 'best' way, or we'll have another situation where research
 gets mangled in the application (I'm thinking the Fisher and Woolridge
 stuff on finishing the first breast first becoming 'only ever feed from one
 side').

 Anyone else seen this and had the same thoughts?
  >>

I think the point of the video is to demonstrate to people that babies CAN and
DO crawl to the breast on their own -- something many people do not believe.
It is not intended as a demonstration of HOW to encourage the baby to take the
breast the first time.  I show it in my lactation education classes, and tell
the students that is NOT the way to do it -- surely we want the mother to help
the baby find the breast.  The fact is, if the mother has been medicated, even
if she helps, he probably won't be able to latch on well.  If he hasn't, and
he isn't separated, both mom and baby, as Michel Odent noted, KNOW what to do
and get the baby attached.  If the ambience is broken by the baby being taken
away for a "bath & measurements" or just to be wrapped or eyedropped or
fingerprinted, or whatever, then neither the baby nor the mother remember what
to do and have to be taught (especially if the mom is a primip).  All that to
say that this was a demonstration of the study that both Ann Marie Widstrom,
and later, Righard did to see if babies will self attach -- and indeed, they
will.

Jan Barger who loves the video, but still will not show it to
anesthesiologists....