Diana Roberts refers to an article in JAMA by Ruth Lawrence and notes that
the scissors hold is shown as correct while the C-hold is shown as
incorrect.  She asks to be enlightened.  Can't promise that, but here are my
thoughts.
WARNING: I haven't seen the article so this is speculation only, but it is
based on a very similar experience I had recently with exactly the same kind
of illustrations, C-hold and pincer grip, yikes.
This sounds like a proofreading glitch.  The C-hold is the only one shown or
described in virtually every reputable book as correct and helpful, while
the scissors hold persists and persists and persists in the consciousness of
the masses despite all the problems which Diana so succinctly notes in her
post.  My guess is that it was a mistake at the last minute, and the
pictures got switched, which is the Murphy's Law explanation.  It could also
have been an effort to help, by some person along the editorial path who
couldn't believe that the scissors hold was the WRONG one and so switched
the pictures, since nearly every woman in the industrial world seems to
report having it used on her by hospital staff.  Both these theories are
more likely and less sinister than the thought that it was a conscious
effort on anyone's part to sabotage the purpose of the article.  I imagine
Ruth Lawrence at this very moment tearing her hair and wondering how to
ensure that JAMA not only prints a retraction, but prints the pictures with
corrected text along with it.  This simple flaw in technique is in my
estimation responsible for the lionesses share of soreness the first days
post partum, which we know has a devastating effect on BF continuation
rates.
What I wouldn't give to have even one tenth the ability to spread 'my'
message that the scissors-hold originator had (shouting, actually shrieking,
now)...
Rachel ('it's not just what you serve, it's how you serve it') Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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