When we were discussing 'Breast Crawl', Pamela Morrison happened to be 
in Penang at WABA, and she obtained for me, the official booklet that 
accompanies the video (many thanks Pamela).  I've found the time today, 
to sit and flick through it, and find it a fascinating read.  It 
carefully addresses many of the issues that have been raised in here, 
and I can certainly recommend the scope and depth of the evidence based 
research being presented.  It is, of course, much the same info as on 
the website, but there is something so much more accessible about 
reading a book, as opposed to scrolling down chapter linked web pages.

There were a couple of things I'd like to mention, as I found them 
extremely interesting:

The cheek to cheek moment when the baby is given to the mother first for 
the prayer - is as much about bonding as anything else, as the mother 
and baby are encouraged to rub skin face to face.  Mother's have been 
spontaneously licking their babies at this moment - something I know 
many of you will be interested in. Diane Weissinger in a recent talk I 
attended, talked about mothers raising their babies up first to the 
face, and looking them straight in the eye, and licking and rubbing 
skin, before then placing them on their chests.  Whilst we might still 
object to the baby being handled by someone else in this sequence on the 
video, when reading the literature, it's clear that this sequence is an 
echo of this.  That mothers, when presented with their newborns directly 
to their nose/cheeks, without interference (washing, cleaning etc) were 
then spontaneously, and unexpectedly, licking them, was something I 
wanted to highlight to you!

Of the 99 babies who were studied doing breast crawl for 4 separate 
studies,  98  made successfully latches.  14 of these needed a bit of 
help in the actual latch, but all made it to the nipple on their own.  
Only 1 baby of the 99 did not initiate the breast crawl.

The booklet acknowledges that the completely 'hands off' method is 
somewhat controversial, but clearly sets out why this approach has been 
taken under the conditions they are working under.  Contrary to how many 
of us read the 'hands off' nature, even by the mother, the booklet 
explains in detail that leaving the baby to get on with it is actually 
as much about emotional context as nutritional.  This is to do with 
allowing the baby to take it's own time, and find it's own pace.  There 
was also an interesting side observation done on infants protesting 
loudly if they were removed/helped too soon.  Some took up to 40 minutes 
to 'gear themselves up' for the latch, and if removed or hurried, got 
very annoyed.  The booklet therefore very clearly supports leaving the 
mother and baby undisturbed for at least 2 hours post partum - weighing 
etc can wait.

The effects on sedation during the labour, and how this negatively 
impacts on the baby, is discussed.  Pethidine levels in the plasma etc 
are discussed, and the observation made that babies of mothers who have 
been medicated, can take three to four hours to recover enough to even 
begin the breast crawl movements, and how these babies need to be left 
undisturbed on the mother's skin until this happens.

Baby's left to breast crawl cried less in the post partum hours than 
those separated.  No surprise there then.  :-)

Finally, and perhaps most pertinently, the booklet acknowledges how new 
this approach is (in terms of medical intervention) and how much still 
isn't known.  It actively sets out areas for more investigation and 
research, and highlights areas where they know there is both 
controversy, and perhaps the answers to all the questions are not yet 
known.  As such, this booklet is an excellent overview of both the 
process undertaken in the video, and a respectful and co-operative ethos 
on how to move forward between professionals.  It does very much set out 
to promote breast crawl as 'the method' to support breastfeeding in the 
broadest possible spectrum, but does so by putting out its well 
researched wares and inviting both comment and collaboration.

The booklet was published in India by Unicef Maharashta, and as such 
does not contain an ISBN number that I can quote to you.  Perhaps others 
here might be able to help track down copies for those who feel it would 
be a useful addition to their tool box.  Small and pocket sized, 72pp.

Again, many thanks Pamela - this is going to be one of my treasures!  :-)

Morgan Gallagher

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome