Birth Crawl

After a recent lecture on breastfeeding, a few of our cohort were discussing the neonatal instinct to feed, and the reflexes that precipitate this. I remembered seeing a video that I think was Norwegian, but might have been Swedish, that showed this beautifully. Sadly, I couldn't find a copy of this on the net to share with my colleagues, but did stumble across this on YouTube:

I wish that the mother's face wasn't blanked out, as it's impossible to see what she is thinking.
Personally, I find this neonatal behaviour fascinating. I was intrigued by their suggestion that the baby should be dried apart from their hands, as the amniotic fluid secretes a smell/taste that facilitates the baby finding the breast. I don't know the exact mechanism of this, but will be looking into it.
I thought the clip also highlighted some of the political aspects of infant feeding. Initiating breastfeeding within half an hour reduces infant mortality by 22% in developing countries (see the clip for the reference). That is just staggering. This is typical of a country where there is unequal access to clean water and sterilising facilities. All too often in this country we can become obsessed with the breast vs bottle choice debate, and lose track of the wider implications of the issue. Babies die because they are bottle fed in countries where there is a lack of clean drinking water and facilities to sterilise equipment. All the while, the multinational corporations that manufacture artificial milk ruthlessly market their wares to, well, everybody, but especially it seems to those that are most vulnerable and would benefit the most from breastfeeding. To make this point, I'd like to quote from the Numico corporate web site. Numico is the MNC behind brands such as Cowe&Gate and Milupa. They state on their web site that they are interested in "High-growth, high-margin businesses only, concentrating on markets with the greatest potential for brand leadership." They do not give out free pens, flip charts and tourniquets because they are kind and generous. They do it because the perception of professional power can be extremely influential, and seeing the brand logo of an artificial milk on a midwife's equipment sends the message that they are endorsing artificial feeding in general, and that brand in particular. They exist to make money, at any cost. There is one picture that haunts me when I think of what that cost is.

From the IBFAN web site: http://www.ibfan.org/english/issue/overview01.html
This photograph was taken by UNICEF in Islamabad, Pakistan. These babies, believe it or not, are twins. The baby with the bottle is a wee girl. She died the day after this picture was taken. Her brother was breastfed and thrived. The mother was told that she would only be able to produce enough milk for one baby, and that is why she bottle fed the girl. Totally inaccurate information, sadly. "Use my picture if it will help" said this mother. I wonder if she knows the impact this picture has had on people round the world. I can't think of anything that so definitively and so powerfully shows why it is fundamentally important that breastfeeding is promoted and supported and that companies that produce artificial milk are put back in their box.

Which leads on to this clip:

Baby Milk Action is a group which protects breastfeeding and the right of mothers to accurate information free from company propaganda.

http://www.babymilkaction.org/