At last summer's LLLI Conference there was a poster exhibit with this
theme.  I had hoped to talk with the person who did the poster, but she
wasn't there when people were supposed to be manning their exhibits.
Was she afraid of having to defend her position in person???  I found
that the info was very distorted (like pushing on the back of baby's
head).  It seemed this person had a particular ax to grind.  I was
surprised the poster was OK'd since it had no research basis-just one
person's experience.
I find that this hold is sometimes essential to achieving the asymetric,
"lead with the chin" latch.  It is nearly impossible for an
inexperienced baby to get the most effective latch if the head is in the
crook of mom's arm-chin is usually tucked to baby's chest!  I point out
to parents that once baby becomes a "pro" at nursing, mom can use a lot
of positions etc. that may not work well in the learning period.  Baby
learns what the breast is supposed to feel like in the mouth during
effective nursing and will make whatever adjustments are necessary to
achieve that feel.  I never tell an experienced mom not to use the
"traditional" cradle hold, but I will describe the most effective latch
and mention that if she is having any difficulty getting baby to latch
that way she may want to consider the alternative while baby is
learning.
I wonder if this person feels threatened by "new" approaches-like by
accepting them she would be saying she was "wrong" before.
Breastfeeding doesn't change, but our understanding of how it works and
how to make it work the best is constantly improving.  We need to be
open to different approaches and not be "locked into" something just
because "we've always done it this way".  For example: How many of us
used to always say "warm before, cold after" when discussing how to deal
with initial fullness.  Now we understand that frequently, cold is
better, especially if mom is unable to get any milk out.  (Possibly
because the swelling that can accompany initial fullness is restricting
the flow of milk.  Warm has the potential for increasing, not decreasing
the swelling.)  Some of us used to feel getting baby onto both sides was
so important that it would be suggested to switch baby after only a few
minutes if baby didn't feed very long.  Now it's "Finish the first side
first and only offer the second if baby is interested."

Winnie - still learning and willing to change after 33 years working
with nursing dyads.

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