Laurie asked an interesting question, "do you intervene and
offer(gently)advice at "correction?"  I have come to the opinion that
unless the mother is asking for help, telling you there is a problem, or
the baby is in obvious distress its best to leave it alone.  I use to
always make gentle corrections, thinking that I knew the correct latch
and positioning for a mother and baby.  I think because every woman and
baby are different, structure's of the infant's mouth, structure of the
nipple/breast different, elasticity of skin different that sometimes
what we think should be correct isn't for that particular nursing
couple.  I did a home visit with a very outspoken mom, who after I
gently corrected her positioning, said that it didn't feel right. She
promptly went back to nursing her baby the way she had been doing it(she
had not called about a problem, just wanted to make sure that everything
was ok, since she hadn't nursed a baby in 8 years).  I couldn't believe
that she and her baby would do well and expected a phone call about sore
nipples, slow weight gain.  Instead everything was fine, and the baby
gained very well and she didn't have sore nipples.  Then, her next baby
she nursed but I never saw her nurse the next baby the way she did that
baby.  Somehow she just knew what was right for her with this baby.
Maybe if she had been shy and afraid to tell me that I wasn't helping,
just maybe I would have been responsible for making a good situation
bad.

I do home visits and see babies at 2-3 days old.  A common complaint I
get from mothers is that someone else put the baby to their breast.
They wanted to do it themselves and I happen to agree with them.  I have
had mothers tell me that they know exactly when they got that crack on
the nipple.  It was when someone else put the baby to the breast. Is
this becoming a standard practice in hospitals? I do recognize that some
women want someone to do it for them. And, yes it is difficult to watch
someone struggling with getting the baby on well.  Somewhat akin to
watching kids learn to swim.  Ya just want to do it for them and you're
terrifed that they will drown. And sometimes you do go into the water
with them and support them.  Most children learn how to swim although no
one child looks exactly like the other child going through the water.
Eventually it becomes a recognizable stroke.  I think that breastfeeding
is like learning to swim.  We have to do it ourselves but at times we
need the support of the teacher to learn that physical skill.

I vote for "not fixing something unless its broke." And letting moms put
their babies to their breasts while we offer support and guidance.
Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC

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