Do we become skilled with or only taught one hold and stick with it because
that's what we have always done?  I now  work as a midwife and when I work
on the wards it just stuns me that we start with the transitional (cross
cradle) hold - before any problems have shown themselves - yet I believe
this doesn't build on a mother's  knowledge base which is important for
adult learning.  Her subliminal knowledge starts with the cradle hold I
believe.   If we start from where the mother is you will find that they will
often instinctively use the cradle hold because that is what feels most
'normal'.  I just want midwives to start thinking of the mother first and
not necessarily sticking with what they have been taught so that is what the
mother MUST do.  Although I guess it is better to use the transition hold
well than to use the cradle hold poorly.  Surely just as I have had to learn
and develop skills to assist women with the transition hold it isn't too
difficult to watch some DVDs or videos and learn how the cradle hold is done
well.  

I want to say that the cradle hold used in bottle feeding advertisements is
not the cradle hold used with breastfeeding and maybe this is where the
problems occur especially if we assist women, using the cradle hold, by
demonstrating the hand holding the baby's bottom rather than stabilising
across the shoulders blades (positional stability - as with transition hold)
because then the baby's head cannot be free to move backwards over the
mother's arm and into a more desired position for drinking.  

The transitional hold is a useful hold in some situations but the issue is
more about where we start - asking the mothers how they wish to hold their
babies might be quite a radical thought :-).  Just a suggestion that maybe
we could start with the cradle hold and move to the other holds when other
problems interfere with what comes naturally.    With the cradle hold the
principles of having baby start close to the body and breast is still
important and holding baby's head interferes with the baby's instinctive
ability to do some of the things it needs to do. It is more difficult for a
mother to force a baby onto the breast with the cradle hold also - another
plus.   I find watching and observing women do what feels right for them
teaches me heaps.  

A big thank you to the Lactnet community for the opportunity to share our
thoughts and ideas.  

Shaughn Leach  RM IBCLC Dip T
Perth, Western Australia 


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