Dear Friends:
This is a topic dear to me. Mobbs, in Breastfeeding Review (May 1989 pp
39-41) speaks of the mouth being the organ central to imprinting. This is the
place where baby learns about the world. Nature has designed that the only
thing a baby's mouth should encounter after birth is mother's nipple and
areola. Not blue bulb daggers nor gloved fingers, not metal tubes nor suction
catheters.
Standing behind the mother to see the shape of the nipple the instant it
leaves the baby's mouth will tell enough about the shape of the baby's mouth.
Visual inspection when the baby yawns or opens wide is also be helpful.
When doing craniosacral therapy, my finger goes in....with baby's
permission, with the intention of working to correct problems. If baby
doesn't want anything in its mouth, I don't go in. I wait, work on the
mother, ask again. Usually if the mother gets some treatment, then the baby
will accept the treatment.
I am not a speech pathologist, so oral anatomy is not a major focus for
me. My concerns are about the relationship (physical, emotional, and
spiritual) between mother and baby, milk transfer and supply, and being as
non-intrusive as possible.
That said, I am sure there may be times when a digital assessment of the
baby's mouth is indicated. As with any tool, it has its uses. I protest its
routine use, its choice as a first assessment activity when there are other
things to do that are not invasive. It seems to be a medical technique,
rather than an historically based one. Not my personal preference.
Training in oral assessment is not standard preparation to become a
lactation helper; some of us have obtained clinical training in this
sensitive skill, many haven't.
Warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MSN, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CIMI, CSTP
Elkins Park (a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; northeastern USA)
supporter of the WHO Code and the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative
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