Dear Sir/Madam,
I watched your Breastfeeding Clinic feature today, and am saddened to say that this has caused me to raise a complaint via Ofcom.
You introduced Clare as ‘the UK’s leading expert’. Clare has never had any breastfeeding qualifications. She herself admits to not practicing in line with the current evidence base and discusses her ‘own technique’ with ‘shoving the baby on’, which we know can cause babies to refuse the breast. This evidence base that health professionals and lactation consultants work from is in accordance to worldwide research and Unicef Baby Friendly principles. To have someone suggest that these should not be adhered to and that her own techniques are superior is ridiculous. For a national and very influential programme such as This Morning to allow someone to condone this is disgusting.
Clare went on to give non evidence-based answers to the questions asked by women. Some of which could cause long term concerns with breastfeeding for these women and others watching.
With any other health concern, would you allow someone onto your programme to teach them their own techniques, rather than working from an evidence base? You likened your feature to that of when you taught women to check their breasts for lumps. I cannot imagine you would have used someone’s personal technique over and above the evidence base.
As a Breastfeeding Practitioner and trainee Lactation Consultant, I am devastated to see such terrible information being given to women. This is such a waste of what could have been an incredible feature. I beg you, please find someone else to manage this feature who has real qualifications and a passion for supporting women, not someone who is using this as a platform to sell more of their own products (books, videos etc. such as Clare).
I look forward to a response from you as to why you chose to use someone with no qualifications to share such detrimental ‘advice’.
Yours faithfully,
Sian Aldis