Phyllis and Rosellina,

I would also be interested in hearing about your work developing
breastfeeding teaching checklists.  If you need to email me privately,
please do.

I wonder if there are any among us on Lactnet who have worked with moms of
limited intelligence?  This concept--of reducing information to it's
simplest form--would be helpful.

I recently tried to help such a mom relactate.  The mom was focused on
getting a pump--getting her milk back.  She was also difficult to talk with,
constantly breaking into the conversation to mention something else.  I
wanted to help someone who seemed so determined and so concerned about her
baby.  But even when I spoke with her on the phone, I could hear that she
was not able to process the information I tried to give her.  A mom needs
some understanding to make the commitment, after all, to take on such a
task.

But this mom was led to believe, by her pediatrician and her visiting nurse,
that she could get her milk back (2 weeks postpartum, baby never went to
breast and would not latch on) simply by getting a pump.    The visiting
nurse had contacted our WIC pump program (for working moms only) but was
able to get a pump okayed for this mom.  I am a LLL Leader but I also
volunteer to teach moms about pumping for this program.

Wanting not to discourage the mom--but also feeling cornered--I thought
perhaps I could ease the mom into a regimen that she could handle and that
might allow her to begin to replace some formula feeds with expressed milk
feeds.  So, I asked this mom if she could do two things (to start):  pump as
often as her baby was fed (probably not 8-10 times in 24 hours) and be
skin-to-skin with her baby A LOT (nose near nipple, bottle feed next to
breast, etc) in the hope that he might try to self-attach.  She seemed
encouraged by the 1/2 ounce she got after twenty minutes of pumping, but I
think she was looking for a full bottle.

To make a long story shorter, the mom decided she couldn't handle it, even
before I left to go home!  In retrospect, I would ask the visiting nurse if
she thinks the mom is up to the task.  Still, I hate to say no.

So, how does one "distill" information for a mom like this--teen moms,
too--so that she can make an informed decision about a difficult situation?
Lactnet, your wise thinking on this would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Diane, LLLL

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