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 INFANT CUES:
A FEEDING GUIDE
Mark-It TV, UK 1997
Review by Virginia Thorley OAM IBCLC
This beautifully filmed 10-minute video, targeted originally at low-income mothers on the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in Texas, uses a variety of babies and mothers to demonstrate what successful breastfeeding looks like. In this country, it would be particularly useful for pregnant women who have never seen successful breastfeeding up close (or at all), because each stage is separated out and focused on through observations of several mother/baby pairs, before the next step is added. This strategy helps the inexperienced eye to see what is meant to be seen. The same strategy may also assist practising health professionals to see what the eye cannot always discern in a continuous movement, to refresh their practical skills.
The sound track consists of background music without narration, information being provided by clearly printed headings with Spanish sub-titles at the beginning of each section. The structure of the video and the absence of narration make this a useful video to start and stop for discussion in antenatal classes or in community education of young people.
The video starts with sequential shots of different babies attaching, and shows individual variation in babies, breasts and attachment styles. The first heading, Hunger Cues, is followed by footage of one baby. Several mother/baby pairs are shown in the section Preparation and Positioning, most employing the assistance of pillows. Here, as in life, the most common hold is the cradle hold across the mother's body, with two examples of the underarm position and one mother lying down to breastfeed, seen from two camera angles. During this segment, the camera also moves its focus to the mothers' feet, showing them comfortably placed on the floor or supported with a book where the chair is too high. Waiting for a Wide Mouth is the next segment, with very clear illustrations of gape with various babies, and the action is, each time, stopped at the point of achieving widest gape. The next segment, Correct Attachment, puts together the wide gape with a
good attachment. A succession of babies is then shown breastfeeding effectively, with lovely rhythmic movements on the part of the baby and the movement of the mother's breast in response, under the heading Nursing, a culturally strange term for Australians. This is followed by Coming Off, showing a variety of responses to the end of a feed, and Signs of Satiety, with an excellent range of satiety behaviours.
Minor quibbles from this reviewer are that all the babies are attached quickly, with none being shown nuzzling and attaching at the baby's own pace. Perhaps time constraints and a preference by the advisors for a particular, efficient attachment method, are responsible. Pillows were used universally in this video for supporting the baby, a practice with which some practitioners are less comfortable. So it would have been good to see at least some mothers and their babies managing well without pillows, perhaps after changing the arm position after the baby is well attached. The absence of narration provides opportunities for stopping the video to discuss these points.
This beautiful video is highly recommended and would be suitable for antenatal classes, community education and school visits, newly delivered mothers, and for orientation for midwifery students and candidates preparing for the IBLCE examination. As already mentioned, it is a useful discussion tool.
Virginia Thorley OAM IBCLC
Author and lactation consultant
from Birth Issues Vol 6 No 4 Dec 1997 - Jan 1998
Available from CAPERS
Bookstore -buy
this video now
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