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Review: Breastfeeding: A Special Relationship

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Reviewer

Name

Dr Jennifer Dandrea

Institution

University of Nottingham

Department

School of Nursing

Job title

Lecturer

Video Details

Title

Breastfeeding: A Special Relationship

Country

UK

Duration (mins)

27 mins

Collection

Healthcare Productions

Year

1986

Description

The programme consists of mothers and their families talking. The Health Visitors' Association and a community dietician attempt to signpost the route to the best and safest method of feeding a baby.

Subject classification

Breast feeding, Maternal and child health, UK, Paramedical personnel, Professional training, Women's health, Early childhood, Nutrition

Intended audience

General

Brief summary

I really enjoyed this because I thought it was an effective and accessible way of delivering information and advice.

Review

Audience and Use

The video is intended for all mothers-to-be (and their partners) as well as healthcare professionals who come into contact with new mothers and could play a role in encouraging and supporting breastfeeding. It serves the needs of its intended audience well and would be an interesting and engaging way of illustrating the views and experiences of different breastfeeding clients to healthcare students.

Content

The general theme of the video is that breastfeeding is best for baby and mother, that problems are surmountable and overall the experience is extremely positive. It concentrates solely on the pro-breastfeeding argument. I am not personally aware of other videos on this topic... The content is accurate and up to date however the adults' clothes are a little bit dated-this does not affect the educational value of the video and possibly enhances it because it shows that the same problems and issues clearly just come around again! As regards accessibility a transcript is available. There are no subtitles but the language is clear and easy to understand. The interviewer is only ever heard but the interviewees are shown in close-up which would allow lip-reading.

Technical issues

The video is easy to download and play and the quality good. The structure of the segments is useful.

General comments

This is a useful resource for learning and teaching because it shows interviews with breastfeeding mothers describing their lived experiences. Therefore, although the look of the film will date, the content should remain relevant as long as mothers continue to breastfeed. Although it highlights positives and negatives of breastfeeding, it is clearly a pro-breastfeeding film and it does not provide any exploration of cases where breastfeeding was unsuitable or abandoned.

I have not used this video personally but would recommend it to my colleagues.