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Official Journal of the
United States Lactation Consultant Association
Vol. 5, Issue 2, 2014
Print ISSN: 2158-0782
Online ISSN: 2158-0537
With the compliments of Springer Publishing Company, LLC
41© 2014 United States Lactation Consultant Association
Clinical Lactation, 2014, 5(2), http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/2158-0782.5.2.41
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Consecutive Cochrane meta-analyses promote early
skin-to-skin contact (SSC) as the gold standard in
breastfeeding initiation stating that there are no adverse
effects (Anderson, Moore, Hepworth, & Bergman,
2003; Moore, Anderson, & Bergman, 2007; Moore,
Anderson, Bergman, & Dowswell, 2012). However,
in a recent review, Herlenius and Kuhn (2013) report
that some infants have died during early SSC, noting
a sharp increase in idiopathic, sudden unexpected
postnatal collapse (SUPC) in healthy term babies.
Although SUPC is rare, most cases occur during
the first 2 postnatal hours with baby lying prone,
Skin-to-skin contact during the first hour following birth is the gold standard in breastfeeding. Although
consecutive meta-analyses report no adverse effects, a recent review shows an increase in idiopathic
sudden unexpected postnatal collapse (SUPC) in healthy term babies identifying three main risk
factors: skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, and baby lying prone. Concurrently, authoritative visual
materials tacitly promote maternal supine postures illustrating the breast crawl, a form of birth skin-to-
skin contact. The naked baby lies on top of his or her mother’s body, in close ventral contact with torso
parallel to the floor—a position strongly associated with sudden infant death. Biological nurturing
(BN) research, the first to examine maternal postural effects on breastfeeding success, suggests that
a semireclined maternal position is optimal for breastfeeding initiation. The maternal body slope
ensures that the baby lies tilted, a position known to promote oxygenation. The angle of maternal
recline, a variable central to BN but hitherto ignored in the skin-to-skin and SUPC literature, is
unrelated to dress level. This commentary develops a postural argument to increase understanding of
the potential role played by the maternal body slope to reduce the risk of idiopathic SUPC.
Keywords: biological nurturing, skin-to-skin contact, sudden unexpected postnatal collapse
Suzanne Colson, PhD1
Does the Mother’s Posture Have a Protective Role to
Play During Skin-to-Skin Contact?
Research Observations and Theories
breastfeeding in SSC. The mother’s posture during
these events is ignored.
Experts writing in the mainstream literature, internet
photo banks, and social media depict mothers of healthy
term infants breastfeeding in SSC in various positions:
upright, side-lying, laid-back, and flat-lying (Bergman,
2014; Fotolia, 2014; Smillie, Frantz, & Makelin, 2007;
Watson Genna, 2013; YouTube, 2014). However,
some of the most widely circulated videos and photos
of the breast crawl show mothers lying flat or almost
flat on their backs and by doing so, tacitly promote a
1. sdccolson@gmail.com
Breast Crawl—Initiation of the Breast Crawl (UNICEF).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW72pFFEIUo
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
42 Clinical Lactation, 5(2), 2014 Electronic version of this issue is available at http://www.clinicallactation.org/
SUPC events, then compares and contrasts the BN
mechanisms with the birth SSC breast crawl, and finally
makes practice and research recommendations.
Sudden Unexplained Postnatal Collapse
SUPC is an emergency situation, occurring during
the first week, characterized by neonatal apnea for
10 seconds, muscle limpness, pallor, bradycardia,
cyanosis, collapse, cardiac or respiratory failure, and/
or death (Becher, Bhushan, & Lyon, 2012; Poets,
Steinfeldt, & Poets, 2011). Herlenius and Kuhn (2013)
found such diversity in operational definitions that
overall incidence is not comparable. However, national
surveys in Germany and Britain, where data for time
and neonatal position are available, report 2.6 and 3.5
idiopathic SUPCs per 100,000 live births, respectively;
death rates are 1 per 100,000 (Becher et al., 2012;
Poets et al., 2011). The authors acknowledge that the
incidence is likely underestimated because of restricted
time definitions (2 hours), and exclusion of SUPC
having rapid and favorable outcomes.
Herlenius and Kuhn (2013) found that roughly half of
the SUPC case studies identify the baby’s position at
the time of the event, and 74% of these are associated
with baby prone, skin-to-skin, and cobedding. Typically,
a first-time mother and her baby appear healthy and
infection free; the baby, born 35 gestational weeks,
with APGAR scores of 8 at 5 minutes and 10 at 10
minutes is placed prone by the birth attendant, skin-
to-skin. Mother is alone or with baby’s father in the
delivery room, initiating breastfeeding. The mother may
doze, but awake or asleep, she may not recognize that
the baby has collapsed. If the baby dies, the cause, where
there is no underlying pathology or other explanation, is
“presumed accidental suffocation.” See Figure 1.
In view of documented benefits, a professional consensus
continues to promote SSC except in cases of maternal
sedation, sepsis, extreme fatigue, and lack of continuous
professional supervision (Becher et al., 2012; Herlenius &
Kuhn, 2013; Poets et al., 2011). These recommendations,
although sensitive, fail to consider the role played by the
angle of maternal recline, a variable central to BN.
Biological Nurturing and Maternal Recline
BN, a new, mother-centered approach, aims to increase
breastfeeding continuance (Colson, 2010a, 2010b, 2012;
Colson et al., 2008). BN shares much of the rationale
supporting SSC, but interpretations are different; the
BN mechanisms are independent of dress level. See
Figure 2. In BN, the mother sits semireclined—her torso
supine position. The United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) Breast Crawl video has been widely shown
around the world and was developed to demonstrate that
babies are capable of getting to the breast by themselves.
As such, it is a useful teaching tool. Unfortunately, those
watching it often assume that placing a mother lying
supine or almost flat on her back is the best position to
use when in early SSC.
The breast crawl is a form of birth SSC thought to aid
breastfeeding and self-regulation (Healthy Children
Project, 2010, 2012; UNICEF UK Baby Friendly
Initiative, 2010; UNICEF/WHO Baby-Friendly USA,
2012; Widström, 2013; Widström, Lilja, Aaltomaa-
Michalias, Dahllöf, Lintula, & Nissen, 2011). In the
birth SSC breast crawl, the mother lies supine and the
baby is placed prone between the mother’s breasts, eyes
level with maternal nipples; baby’s torso lies flat or
horizontal. This position is potentially quite dangerous
because it has been strongly associated with sudden
infant death (Fleming et al., 1996; Skadberg, Morild, &
Markestad, 1998). This prompts a question: Does the
mother’s breastfeeding posture have a protective role to
play during SSC?
Is Maternal Posture Protective of
Infant Breathing?
Biological nurturing (BN) research is the first to report
the impact of maternal posture on breastfeeding success
(Colson, 2005a, 2005b, 2006; Colson, Meek, &
Hawdon, 2008). For many years, mothers were instructed
to initiate breastfeeding sitting upright or lying on their
sides, yet BN results, published elsewhere, show that a
mean 45° angle of maternal recline is optimal (Colson,
2010a, 2010b, 2012; Colson et al., 2008). Like the birth
SSC breast crawl, in BN, the baby also lies prone. But his
or her torso is tilted upward; the tilt maintains the baby’s
head, shoulders and arms elevated, a position noted to
increase oxygenation and optimize lung function (Jollye
& Summers, 2012; Thoresen, Cowan, & Whitelaw,
1988). BN findings suggest potential drawbacks to
placing mothers lying flat, or almost flat, on their backs
at any time—especially during the first hours following
birth. But so far, researchers studying SSC have not
looked at the degree of maternal recline (Moore et al.,
2012).
This commentary proposes that maternal posture
does make a difference in healthy term infants in the
immediate postpartum period, the time when most
neonatal SUPC cases occur (Herlenius & Kuhn, 2013).
The commentary first summarizes salient aspects of
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
© 2014 United States Lactation Consultant Association 43
The Role of Primitive Neonatal Reflexes
“Primitive neonatal reflexes” is a collective term for
inborn reactions, responses, and reflexes (Touwen, 1984).
Endogenous and external stimuli release the reflexes, not
intention, behavioral state, or dress level (André-Thomas,
Chesni, & Saint-Anne Dargassies, 1960; Brazelton &
Nugent, 1995; Colson, 2006, 2010a, 2010b; Colson
et al., 2008; Dubowitz, Dubowitz, & Mercuri, 1997;
Prechtl, 1977). Offering an alternative interpretation to
SSC, the BN mechanisms explain how the SSC breast
crawl works: The baby’s thighs, calves, feet tops, and soles
brush against the mother’s body, triggering such reflexes
as plantar grasping, the Babinski response, placing,
stepping, head bobbing, finger flexion/extension, and
rooting as the baby pushes up to locate the breast. Simple
reflexes combine to aid locomotion, for example, arm
and leg cycling or placing and stepping (Colson, 2006,
2010a, 2010b; Colson et al., 2008).
There are other similarities. In both BN and the birth
SSC breast crawl, the mother’s hands are free; her
body supported; her muscles soft; and both shoulders
balanced, not hunched. Furthermore, gravity keeps the
baby in place; mothers do not have to hold the baby’s
back, head, or neck. Gravity also reduces the strength of
reflex response, smoothing jerky movements and aiding
their expression as latching stimulants.
One could argue, supported by compelling birth SSC
breast crawl DVDs (Righard & Frantz, 1992; Stark,
2011; Widström, 1996), that supine postures are optimal
for breastfeeding initiation, opening the maternal torso
angled from approximately 80° to 35° from the floor.
Even a slight recline increases the dimensions from
sternal notch to pubes, thus augmenting the amount of
maternal body space available to the neonate. Brushing
movements release some 20 primitive neonatal reflexes,
promoting latch and milk transfer.
Figure 1. Unrecognized Postnatal Collapse
Photo reprinted with courtesy of Professor Berger, Swiss
Society of Neonatology, www.neonet.ch, on behalf of the
parents. Photograph taken by the father.
Figure 2. Biological Nurturing Independent of Dress State
The mother’s body slope may help protect neonatal breathing. Left side: First postnatal hour; mother and baby in biological
nurturing and skin-to-skin contact. Right side: First postnatal day; mother and baby lightly dressed in biological nurturing.
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
44 Clinical Lactation, 5(2), 2014 Electronic version of this issue is available at http://www.clinicallactation.org/
Maybe the question Widström asked in 1988 was
justified.
BN research offers different interpretations. Findings
suggest that human mothers, unlike lower mammals,
participate spontaneously, unless they are told not to.
Mothers appear as competent as their babies, often
taking the lead. With both hands free, they instinctively
place the baby, somewhere on the frontal body space,
wherever it feels right; they adjust positions, stroke,
groom, check temperature and breathing, shape their
breasts, and, occasionally, physically latch the baby
without “pushing” (Colson, 2006, 2008a, 2010a, 2010b;
Colson et al., 2008). Although there is some evidence
suggesting that neonatal self-attachment reduces
nipple sucking (Righard & Alade, 1990; Widström,
2013), the effects of maternal factors, such as posture
or spontaneous behaviors stimulating the baby’s self-
attachment, have not been studied. Clinical and research
observations suggest that without instruction, mothers
often compulsively protect and help, and this appears to
reduce latching time.
A quick birth is known to be a safe birth, and Diaz,
Schwarcz, Fescina, and Caldeyro-Barcia (1978)
report how vertical maternal postures together with
spontaneous pushing and breathing (compared
to taught techniques) significantly shorten labor
duration. Although there are strong physiological
links between birth and lactation (Odent, 1992),
it is unknown if such variables as maternal posture
and duration of spontaneous newborn searching and
finding behaviors promote safety in the brestfeeding
context. No research has examined how maternal
posture might affect time to first suckling or if a quick
latch is safer. Apart from the aforementioned SSC
studies, where mothers are placed supine, few have
looked at latching times. In the BN sample, raw data
show that all 40 mothers participated spontaneously
and 2 were in SSC; the mean time to sustained latch
was 5 minutes (range 8 seconds to 16 minutes), and,
prompted by their mothers, over half the babies
self-attached. Latching technique was not routinely
assessed; however, breastfeeding duration was 100%
at hospital discharge and 100% (87.5% exclusive) at 6
weeks (Colson et al., 2008).
When episodes were filmed during the first postnatal
month, these times concur with Bullough, Msuku, and
Karonde (1989), who looked at effects of early suckling
on postpartum hemorrhage. They calculated a mean
time of 7.25 minutes (range 3.5–15 minutes) from
birth to first suckling for a sample of 76 babies with
dimensions maximally. The science for this argument
comes from landmark studies, conducted during the first
hour following birth, examining effects of early mother–
baby contact for healthy term infants (De Chateau &
Wiberg, 1977; Righard & Alade, 1990; Widström, 1988;
Widström et al., 1987; Widström et al., 1990). These
researchers appear to be the first to illustrate their methods
of data collection with photos of breastfeeding mothers
lying supine. One objective was to discover if human babies,
like other mammals, have species-specific approaching and
searching behaviors. Widström (1988, p. 9) and Righard
and Alade (1990) asked mothers not to help or “not to push
the baby to suck.” Results showed babies crawl unaided to
the breast, self-attaching on average 55 minutes postbirth.
Interestingly, as early as 1988, Widström questioned
whether “it might be tiring and even frustrating for the
infant to have to crawl to the breast . . . ” (p. 29).
We owe Widström and Righard and their colleagues
a great debt of thanks for highlighting neonatal
competence. Their pioneering SSC studies have much
to commend, changing labor ward practices across the
world: delaying or eliminating interventions, such as
gastric suctioning, that traditionally separated mothers
and babies during the first postnatal hour. However,
current research methods continue to restrict maternal
assistance.
In 2011, Widström et al. described nine sequential
innate behaviors priming neonatal self-attachment
during the birth SSC breast crawl; they asked 28
participating mothers not to shift baby’s position.
Results reveal that less than two thirds (n 5 18) of
the babies reached the areola (the primary outcome
measure); of those who did, 3 did not suck; and it took
up to 45 minutes for others to self-attach, extending the
time of SSC to 2 hours. Widström et al. (2011, p. 83)
insisted that mothers refrain from physically helping
their babies who “work hard and need rests,” concluding
that babies should stay skin-to-skin for the first hours
following birth or until the baby accomplishes the nine
behavioral stages culminating in self-attachment and/
or sleeps.
Placing the onus for first suckling entirely on the
baby disregards neonatal fuel economy at the time of
cardiorespiratory transition. The birth SSC breast crawl,
now suggested for inclusion in lactation management
curricula (Widström, 2013), may place undue stress on
the baby. The conclusions drawn by Widström et al.
(2011; Widström, 2013) must be viewed with extreme
caution, considering that so many idiopathic SUPCs
for healthy term infants occur during the first 2 hours.
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
© 2014 United States Lactation Consultant Association 45
Table 1. Practice Recommendations to Reduce the Incidence of Idiopathic Sudden
Unexpected Postnatal Collapse for Healthy Mothers and Healthy Term Babies
Prenatal Education For Healthcare Providers
1. Introduce the need to reduce mother–baby separation at birth, delaying routine
procedures such as weighing, dressing the baby, eye care, gastric suctioning.
2. Differentiate BN from SSC and give mothers choice.
3. Encourage mothers to participate spontaneously during breastfeeding (like they
do during birth).
4. Discuss the following:
• A range of laid-back maternal breastfeeding postures where comfort is the
priority
• How the BN angle of recline influences eye-to-eye contact facilitating baby
gazing
• How mothers naturally protect their baby’s breathing, sleep, temperature, and
so forth
• Inborn protective neonatal reflexes
• How babies often latch on in light sleep and drowsy states
• That mothers need to be in awake states when they are in SSC or breastfeeding
(highlight that the drowsy state for the mother is an “awake” state)
5. Show photos or DVDs of mothers interacting with their babies, that is, placing
babies up their bodies, shaping their breasts, helping babies latch when needed
when baby is in light sleep and drowsy states in SSC and lightly dressed.
6. Promote maternal breastfeeding enjoyment showing mothers who are laughing,
stroking, and nurturing.
7. Discourage the use of mobile phones and texting during birth and the first
postnatal hours.
8. Discuss safe sleep factors and neonatal back to sleep positions.
Immediate Postpartum For Doctors, Nurses, Midwives, Doulas, LCs Attending Birth
1. Promote BN in SSC, ensuring that every part of the mother’s body is supported
and that she does not lie supine.
2. Ensure that the angle of maternal recline facilitates eye-to-eye contact.
3. Replace knitted bulky baby hats or towels that might block eye-to-eye contact with
slim cotton baby bonnets and prewarmed cotton receiving blankets for baby’s
back warmth.
4. Encourage mother to participate, giving her permission to help her baby suckle as
she feels necessary.
(Continued)
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
46 Clinical Lactation, 5(2), 2014 Electronic version of this issue is available at http://www.clinicallactation.org/
Table 1. Practice Recommendations to Reduce the Incidence of Idiopathic Sudden
Unexpected Postnatal Collapse for Healthy Mothers and Healthy Term Babies (Continued)
Immediate Postpartum For Doctors, Nurses, Midwives, Doulas, LCs Attending Birth
5. Protect mother’s privacy and promote an environment conducive to high oxytocin
pulsatility; assess maternal hormonal complexion: comfort, body support, and
reactions to baby and/or people present.
6. Make discrete clinical observations: Ensure constant thermoneutral environment,
assessing temperature and pulse thru touch. Assess color and respirations through
chest movement.
7. If obstetric need to lie supine or if mother under the influence of labor analgesics,
sedatives or exhausted, or if alone or first baby, designate one professional person
responsible (midwife, doula) for ongoing one-to-one professional supervision
using continuous but discrete and unobtrusive, at a glance assessments of clinical
mother–baby well-being, ensuring patency of neonatal airway
8. If mother is awake, aware, and understands protective role, assure continuity of
knowledgeable presence (doula or baby’s father) during the time of cardiovascular
transition.
9. Detect as soon as possible any deviation from normal with pediatric referral.
Hospital Discharge
1. Review (through purposeful conversation) how the angle of maternal recline may
influence inborn mother–baby protective and breastfeeding behaviors.
2. Review and give pamphlet on safe sleeping (positions and other factors).
Note. BN 5 biological nurturing; LCs 5 lactation consultants; SSC 5 skin-to-skin contact.
spontaneous vertex deliveries who were dried, wrapped,
and put to breast within 3 minutes. Without being
shown how, mothers repeatedly elicited suckling until
baby latched. Taken together, these results suggest that
when both mother and baby are allowed to participate
spontaneously, latching times may be greatly reduced
and relatively stable during the first month. Importantly,
maternal spontaneity is not learned behavior; rather,
it appears to be released by positions facilitating eye-to-
eye contact.
Facilitated eye contact is at the heart of BN. The
mother’s semireclined body slope places her baby’s
face 8–12 inches from her face, the ideal distance to
optimize neonatal visual acuity (Dubowitz, Dubowitz, &
Morante, 1980; Klaus & Klaus, 1985). This BN variation
of the enface gaze (Klaus & Kennell, 1976) synchronizes
eye-to-eye contact, resulting in an intimate, reciprocal,
sensorial conversation (Colson, 2010a). Winberg (1995)
suggests that mutual stimulation may increase the
release of peptide hormones, such as oxytocin, having
behavioral effects.
Gazing or just thinking about the baby is recognized
to increase oxytocin pulsatility (McNeilly, Robinson,
Houston, & Howie, 1983; Riordan, 2010). In turn, this
may contribute to the energy economy of both mother
and infant (Uvnäs-Moberg, 1989; Winberg, 1995). The
key words are mutual and reciprocal. Videos of BN
(Colson, 2008a, 2009; Colson, Frantz, & Mohrbacher,
2011) illustrate how the semireclined maternal postures
promote mother–baby visual interactions, where
mothers’ facial features are suggestive of high oxytocin
pulsatility. The BN perspective encourages healthcare
providers to adjust the birthing environment to promote
this “oxytocin hormonal complexion” as a key factor
releasing those spontaneous maternal breastfeeding and
protective behaviors described earlier (Colson, 2008b,
2010a, 2010b).
Mothers’ Position and Infants’ Protective
Reflex Behaviors
The baby is also born with protective reflex behaviors
and two safeguard breathing: spontaneous head lifting
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
© 2014 United States Lactation Consultant Association 47
and a variation of head righting (Colson, 2006, 2008a,
2010a, 2013a, 2013b). Although sleep states reduce
the strength of response (Brazelton & Nugent, 1995;
Colson, 2006, 2010a, 2013a, 2013b; Prechtl, 1977), the
maternal body slope is a constant impetus, a precious,
human species-specific niche aiding the newborn, asleep
or awake, skin-to-skin, or lightly dressed, to release these
antigravity movements when needed. Like blinking
protects the eyes and sneezing clears the nostrils, these
two defensive reflexes are inborn and independent of
dress level. They either protect the neonatal airway or
signal the mother, requesting help.
Observe the dynamics in Figure 1. Although mother
and baby are in direct ventral SSC, see how the mother’s
torso is almost horizontal. Her legs in stirrups, she awaits
suturing; the angle of her baby’s torso mirrors her degree
of recline. These semiflat positions may adversely affect
the expression of the baby’s protective antigravity reflexes;
the degree to which the baby must lift or turn his or her
head is steep. At birth, the neck muscles of many infants
are not able to counteract strong gravitational pull. Even
healthy term babies may struggle and then be overcome
by threatening environmental stimuli, for example, the
blockage of the nasal passages by bed clothes or a part of
the mother’s body.
Figure 1 also shows how gravity works against the
mother, blunting her spontaneous reactions. When
lying almost flat, maternal mobility appears impaired;
placing the baby up her body becomes a monumental
task as the blood drains from her arms and hands
resisting gravity; her finger tips, identified by Klaus,
Kennel, Plumb, and Zuehike (1970) as primary sensorial
exploratory organs, become desensitized (M. Bendig,
personal communication, June 6, 2010) and her upper
limbs tired; mothers often look or act helpless (Colson,
2010a, 2013a). Furthermore, supine mothers often
strain their necks and trapezius muscles when they lift
their heads, against gravity, to gaze at their babies. This
hampers eye-to-eye contact and may decrease oxytocin
pulsatility; mothers, feeling exhausted or bored, may
shut out external stimuli or sleep. Together, these
observations suggest that visibility in supine postures
is not sufficient to release inborn maternal protective
behaviors. Even awake, while lying supine or nearly flat,
mothers may not be able to see the baby’s reflex cues
or if his or her nostrils are obstructed. This offers an
alternative explanation for the medical observations
that first-time mothers do not notice that their baby has
collapsed (Becher et al. 2012; Herlenius & Kuhn, 2013;
Poets et al., 2011). During the birth skin-to-skin breast
crawl, mothers are simply not in a position to do so.
These observations call into question the exclusion
of maternal posture from the birth SSC breast crawl
intervention and the risk factors for SUPC. The
American Academy of Pediatrics (2012) recommends
keeping healthy newborns in direct SSC until they
breastfeed. Bramson et al. (2010) recommend SSC for
at least 2 of the first 3 hours following birth. Such
guidance needs to be revised to include the potential
role played by the angle of maternal recline. BN brings
together many factors which may protect neonatal
safety, and healthcare providers should introduce
BN during prenatal education, encouraging mothers
to participate spontaneously during breastfeeding
like they do during birth. Building on recent risk
management strategies (Becher et al., 2012; Fleming,
2012; Goldsmith, 2013; Herlenius & Kuhn, 2013; Poets
et al., 2011), health professionals should undertake or
allocate discrete postpartum assessments to the baby’s
father or a doula, ensuring that mothers do not lie
supine while in SSC or breastfeeding and that their
posture optimizes mother–baby eye-to-eye contact
(see Table 1 for detailed practice recommendations).
Assessments for any mother placed supine for
obstetric reasons should be continuous, ensuring
professional one-to-one recovery care. Together, these
simple measures may help reduce the incidence of
rare, but serious, idiopathic SUPC events.
Conclusions
It is well known that a picture is worth a thousand
words, and the tacit message conveyed by visual media
illustrating the birth SSC breast crawl suggests that a
maternal supine posture is the “natural” mammalian
way to initiate breastfeeding (Healthy Children
Project, 2010, 2012; UNICEF UK Baby Friendly
Initiative, 2010; UNICEF/WHO Baby Friendly USA,
2012; Widström, 2013). In Britain, for example,
the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative (2010)
promotes SSC with a photo of a mother lying flat on
her back. Although no cause and effect relationships
can be drawn without further research, it is of note
that Becher et al. (2012) report that five healthy term
infants died in Britain in 2009–2010 of accidental
suffocation during breastfeeding or SSC.
These theories and speculations will likely provoke
heated discussion; however, the issues can only be
resolved through research. Randomized controlled trials
should compare BN in SSC and BN when mothers
and babies are lightly dressed with the birth SSC breast
crawl as standard care, evaluating time to first suckling
and spontaneous mother–baby latching techniques to
discover if SSC is the independent variable in the birth
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
48 Clinical Lactation, 5(2), 2014 Electronic version of this issue is available at http://www.clinicallactation.org/
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and risk of the sudden infant death syndrome: Results of 1993-5
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Fotolia. (2014). Royalty Free Stock Photos. Available at http://www
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SSC breast crawl and how the angle of maternal recline
affects important variables, such as self-attachment,
baby’s temperature, blood glucose concentrations, and
other physiological variables, as well as bonding and
breastfeeding outcomes.
SSC is undoubtedly a lovely way to greet the baby at birth;
although linked to SUPC, in fact, SSC may not be a safety
factor. The mother’s breastfeeding posture may play an
important role. Regardless of dress state, the risk may
be associated with the angle of maternal recline. While
awaiting further research evidence, nothing prevents
introducing BN into the SSC equation, auditing effects.
If a maternal body slope promotes a neonatal body tilt
that protects breathing, mothers and babies may have
everything to gain and certainly nothing to lose.
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Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
50 Clinical Lactation, 5(2), 2014 Electronic version of this issue is available at http://www.clinicallactation.org/
Suzanne Colson, PhD, MSc, BA, is a midwife and a
nurse. Her thesis introduced a new paradigm called
Biological Nurturing™ and won the prestigious English
Royal College of Nursing Inaugural Akinsanya Award for
originality and scholarship in doctoral studies. Suzanne
is an Ankinsanya scholar 2007, a former senior lecturer
at Canterbury Christ Church University, and co-founder
of The Nurturing Project—an organization created to
disseminate Biological Nurturing research. She is an
honorary member and a founding mother/leader of La
Leche League France. She is also on the professional
advisory board of La Leche League of Great Britain. She
has more than 35 years clinical experience supporting breastfeeding mothers, first in France working
with Dr. Michel Odent, then in London hospitals as a caseload midwife and midwife/lactation
specialist, and finally during her research appointments and university work as a senior midwifery
researcher and lecturer. Suzanne is the author of numerous articles, research papers, a book, and three
DVDs. Retired from the university and active midwifery practice, she remains available for clinical
consultation and lectures widely across the world.
Copyright © Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
