I've been using the cross-cradle hold with mothers for several years.
In my opinion, it solves many more problems than it creates.  I very
carefully teach mothers the cross-cradle hold in breastfeeding classes
and in person.  I'm sure many of you have seen the surprised look on a
mother's face when she turns to you and says that it doesn't hurt to
feed her baby (when the reason she was scheduling an appointment was
because of sore nipples).

I've also used the cross-cradle hold very successfully with mothers who
had slow-weight gain babies.  It assists the baby in getting more breast
tissue into his mouth.  It is also an easy way for mom to do breast
compression during a feed in order to get a baby to eat and swallow more
milk.

A couple of mothers have called me after using this position for over 4
weeks with complaints of carpal tunnel symdrome.  I think these mothers
are using their wrist and hand to support the weight of the baby's body
and head when they are positioning the baby at the breast.  When I am
assisting a mom, I always tell her to use her forearm along the back of
the baby to keep him in the correct position for nursing.  All of the
baby's body weight should be placed on supportive pillows.  The mother's
hand is placed at the base of the neck of the baby in order to guide him
into position--I make it very clear that she should never place her hand
on the back of the baby's head and *push* the baby into the breast.
You'd be surprised how many mothers tell me that this is what the LC at
the hospital "told" them to do.

I use the cross-cradle position as a learning tool and tell mothers that
it is only necessary to use this technique for a couple of weeks, until
the baby knows exactly where to go to locate the nipple and latch on
deeply without much assistance.

I think that this technique is essential at a time when we are seeing so
many medicated births.  Mother and baby both need assistance in learning
the correct position and latch techniques to get started.  We also don't
have the ability to watch other mothers in our society nursing their
babies very often--certainly not up close!

Janet Talmadge, IBCLC
Naperville, IL

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