Hello All,

I belong to a volunteer breastfeeding support group and will soon be  
applying for funds for a project I have. In the neighbourhod where I  
live, the teenage pregnancy rate is high (64 cases per 1000) compared  
to the average for the rest of the city (Montréal = 28 cases per  
1000). But none of these mothers request breastfeeding support, and  
it is very unlikely that they initiate breastfeeding at all. I have  
gone through the archives, and have read great ideas on how to  
structure the project to aim teenagers (ask them what they think,  
providing a role model they can relate to, talking about body and  
social issues, etc).

My initial idea was to target pregnant teenagers ONLY, but I see now  
that any initiative must be spread out in the long term. Therefore, I  
see my proposal as STEP 1 (info gathering) in a long term effort to  
raise breastfeeding rate for this age group. The project is to create  
and give out a questionnaire during biology class on breatfeeding to  
teenagers (approx. 14-15 yrs old). There will be:  1 section to help  
ascertain the breastfeeding culture they come from; 1 section where  
they may ask one or more questions concerning breastfeeding; 1  
section where they may list the pros and cons of breastfeeding; and a  
final section where they may express WHATEVER they think about  
breastfeeding (including using vulgar language, obscene drawings,  
etc). The info gathered in these questionnaires will help structure  
STEP 2 in the long term initiative (challenging the anti- 
breastfeeding culture that teenagers + their families may have). Any  
thought you have on this proposal will be appreciated.

However, my question to you is more about ethics. I know that when I  
present the proposal there are a couple of issues that will come up.  
I've been thinking a lot about these and I feel that as always, it is  
the more vulnerable groups that are left behind in most health  
initiative, because they are deemed too problematic. Besides the  
obvious benefits to both mom and baby, I strongly feel that  
breastfeeding may help young mothers adequately bond with their  
children and help them be active participants in the raising of their  
children from the start. But, maybe I've overlooked something? Any  
thoughts, whether they agree with the proposal or not, would be  
GREATLY appreciated. Here are the issues I'm worried about, followed  
by stats for my neighbourhood:

1/ Teenage mothers must return to school as soon as possible,  
therefore, breastfeeding is counterproductive: in the 15-24 age  
range, 42% do not go to school.

2/ Can we give adequate support to these young mothers? Presenting  
the idea that "Breast is Best" may be a cruel one, if as a community  
we can't give the support young (all) mothers need to succeed: 50% of  
families are headed by single parents (mostly young single mothers).

Please feel free to post or send any response to me directly. Thank  
you all very much!

Celia Fuentes
Montréal, Québec
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