Birth Issues Journal > Reviews

BREAST FEEDING: DEALING WITH PROBLEMS
Mark-It Television, UK 1997

Review by Virginia Thorley OAM IBCLC

This 24mt video has a very different approach in that it is problem-oriented, showing how Chloe Fisher's Breastfeeding Clinic at the Women's Centre in Oxford corrects difficulties that have arisen. The video showcases this clinic and how it operates, and focuses on Chloe Fisher, a well-known British breastfeeding expert.

A checklist of common problems is shown on the screen, though the second column in smaller print is not as clear; a selection of these situations and their management then presented. The main problems featured are: failure to thrive, difficult attachment, sore and damaged nipples, and colic. Ms Fisher focuses her problem-solving approach on 'positioning'. Definitions of positioning vary, and it could be argued that some of the 'positioning' techniques shown could be described as 'attachment' or 'latch'. The packaging, however, employs the term 'attachment'. The techniques employed by Ms Fisher are shown clearly, with clear explanations to the mothers.

A problem-oriented video such as this one could well be paired with a problem-prevention video when shown to expectant or new parents, to demonstrate that problems are not inevitable, but that when they occur a good deal can be done to correct the situation. This video may also be of interest to midwives and child health nurses who are aware of Chloe Fisher's contribution and would like to see her at work with mothers and babies.

Virginia Thorley OAM IBCLC
Author and lactation consultant
from Birth Issues Vol 6 No 4 Dec 1997 - Jan 1998