Dear Virginia and Ginger:

I am getting enough consultations now where the mom is referred to me for
CST; with the last mom I was able to correctly predict that she was using
cross cradle hold  and RAMing the baby onto the breast before I saw them.
The dyad didn't need CST; mom had pain free feeds when baby was given the
freedom to attach in its own way, and mom was in a position of comfort that
she chose.

This mother said, once she tried  (and had immediate comfortable success)
with side-lying, that the cross-cradle hold had kept her "off balance."

Cross cradle twists mom's shoulders and back out of alignment; she can't do
anything else if one hand is holding her breast and the other is holding
the baby. I've never seen cross cradle in paintings or sculpture; it's a
modern position. Babies don't seem to be able to attach easily either, as
mom is controlling the breast, often pulling it into a more central
position and also her baby's head.

That's why I asked for some positive comments about it. I am growing to
dislike it because of the dyads I have seen where finding a more
comfortable position has brought success.

warmly,

On Wed, Dec 9, 2015 at 6:45 PM, Virginia Thorley <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> Hi Nikki and Ginger:
> While most "holds" will work for some babies when the situation suits, I
> am always concerned when a mother is taught this one (sometimes
> antenatally) as "the one correct positioning". There is no "one
> correct way". This position was very popular in Australia with hospital
> staff from about 1988 and - to my mind - the essential element was
> "control" (by an adult). I suspect I was considered a bit of a heretic in
> some circles for questioning it and offering other ways, when appropriate.
> This idea of one "correct" way has changed and the value of a variety of
> positions or holds is now recognised, particularly since Dr Suzanne Colston
> work on "laid-back" positions.
>
> I found the cross-cradle hold very awkward to demonstrate to mothers (as
> one of a variety of "holds") and I was in fact unable to master it till I
> was in my 50s. So it is just as well no one tried to teach me that position
> when I was a new Mum. My first baby self-attached on the delivery table in
> a side-lying position. Later, after I relactated after an early iatrogenic
> setback, she fed in a laid-back position across me as I sat with my feet
> and legs up in a traditional Australian "squatter's chair". (A "squatter"
> was a land holder, usually implying affluence, and these chairs were
> designed for relaxing on wide verandas.)
>
> While cross cradle has its uses in specific circumstances or if the mother
> prefers it, it doesn't really support infant self-attachment and following
> the infant's innate behaviours. One of those circumstances can be if the
> baby cannot self attach, perhaps because of never having been given the
> chance as a newborn, or because of developmental delays or mother
> difficulties. If a mother is using this position exclusively, I try to give
> her some options on positions so that she and her baby can try what works
> for them without being limited.
>
> My 2 cents worth.
>
> Virginia
>
> Dr Virginia Thorley, OAM, PhD, IBCLC, FILCA
> Private practice lactation consultant
> (continuously certified since 1985)
> Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
>



-- 
Nikki Lee RN, BSN, Mother of 2, MS, IBCLC, CCE, CIMI, ANLC, CKC
Author:* Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Breastfeeding Therapy*
www.nikkileehealth.com
https://www.facebook.com/nikkileehealth

*Get my FREE webinar series*

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