Bringing Care to Life
Breastfeeding Series
Of all preventative interventions, breastfeeding has
the greatest potential impact on child survival.
Virtually every mother can breastfeed, if given the right support, advice, and encouragement, as well as practical assistance to resolve any problems. Our breastfeeding videos “show and tell” essential information to help health workers learn to observe and better guide mothers, and to give mothers the opportunity to “learn by seeing” how to breastfeed in a way they can easily understand and follow.
These breastfeeding videos are the
only ones I’ve ever seen that go into exactly
the right detail. When I saw the head tilt,
in the latch animation, I realized you
had the crux of it exactly as it should be.
Charlotte Yonge, Lactation consultant, France
Footage was filmed in Nepal, Kenya, Toronto, and Vermont with more than 100 breastfeeding mothers and babies. It was a challenging series of videos to shoot — as good attachment is rare, babies fall asleep quickly, and capturing the best teaching angle changes instantly as the baby moves to the breast.
The videos follow current breastfeeding standards, were carefully reviewed by our team of lactation experts, and field tested in several locations in the developing world. There is a set of videos for health workers and a companion set adapted for mothers.
How our breastfeeding videos are making a difference
The breastfeeding videos are the most sought after and commended of our video series. The painstaking attention to detail and special focus on showing the angles and actions that teach have led to the resounding success of this series. The videos were featured at the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative Congress in 2016, hosted by WHO and UNICEF in Geneva.
The breastfeeding videos have wide appeal to health care providers at all levels—nurses, midwives, doctors, lactation counselors, and students—as well as mothers, both new and experienced. They are available in more than 40 languages and used throughout the developing world, and in many developed countries where breastfeeding has become a lost art.
Testimonials
Mothers learn to breastfeed by watching other mothers breastfeed. Sadly, in France we don’t have a breastfeeding culture, so many mothers have never seen a breastfed baby before having their first child. Most of the doctors have no clue on how a breast does work, many just tell the mothers to use the bottle instead. A vast majority of grandmothers did not breastfeed so they cannot help young breastfeeding mothers.
Your videos fill the gap very well, especially when it comes to learning how to latch correctly.
Agnès, from Lyon, France
I have learnt a lot from the newly released 8 videos on breastfeeding and have started applying the knowledge gained to help breastfeeding women in my village on the best practices.
Thanks for dissemination of this knowledge.
Alhassan Aliyu, Gamagira, South Africa
Very thorough and well explained. I really enjoyed it and found value in all the information. I hope more mothers can have access to this video so they don’t give up on breastfeeding. Its a beautiful experience and this video truly shows that. Thank you!
Irasema
Such excellent content! I am a Lactation Counselor and will be showing this to clients. It is a great balance of information and accessibility.
Chelsea Rothschild
Let me just say WOW!
I am OVERWHELMED with how great of a job everyone has to work on this website and videos! THANK you. I work for WIC and just stumbled upon your website. I am currently networking your whole site to all of my co-workers at WIC.
Andrea Balderas
Acknowledgements
Primary Sources
Dr. Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding, Jack Newman and Teresa Pitman, 2014
Breastfeeding Made Simple, Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, 2010
Breastfeeding Promotion and Support in a Baby-Friendly Hospital: 20-hour Course, UNICEF/WHO, 2009
Lactation Experts
Nor Kamariah Mohamad Alwi, IBCLC
Louise Goosen, IBCLC (on-site in Kenya)
Kristen Harker, CNM, CLC
Miriam Labbok, MD, MPH
Shery Leeder, IBCLC (on-site in Nepal)
Jane Morton MD
Jack Newman, MD
Vicki Rich, IBCLC, RN
Casie Tesfai, CLC
Cindy Turner-Maffei, IBCLC
Clinical Sites
CANADA – International Breastfeeding Centre, Toronto
NEPAL – Itahari Birthing Center
NEPAL – Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital
KENYA – Kapenguria Clinic and Kitale Hospital
Health Worker “Actresses”
Nepal – Sipra Joshi, nurse
Nepal – Meena Sharma, nurse
Kenya – Alice Waweru, nurse
Kenya – Rose Nambuye, nurse
Film Team
Deb Van Dyke – producer, director
Mark Binder – videographer
Bishnu Kalpit – videographer
Michael Sacca – videographer
Tony Bacon – editor
Charlotte Blake Alston – English narrator
Jeanne Bernier – French narrator
Maria Alexandra Granja – Spanish narrator
Funding Support
Two grants from the Laerdal Foundation and the Vitol Foundation were instrumental in making the breastfeeding series possible. We’d also like to thank our friends and neighbors in the Mad River Valley of Vermont—and beyond—for their steady support for our film series.