I've just finished scheduling all of our upcoming community education
classes at my hospital (so glad it's done).  I'm particularly excited about
the Breastfeeding Basics Class we offer and what we've done in 4 years to
develop, promote and improve the class.

Through trial and error, we've figured out what worked best in our
community to promote the class and boost attendance.
        1.Our hospital places a monthly ad in the local newspaper that promotes
all of our community education programs,        including the BF class.

        2.We include the class as one of the many options of classes and services
offered in our Family Birthplace brochure,      which is distributed by all of
the physicians offices to every OB patient.

        3.The medical staff and the nursing staff in their offices are critical to
getting the word out.  They encourage their patients to         attend our BF
class because they have seen how successful breastfeeding is for the new
moms who have attended.

        4.We have flyers promoting the class available in the main lobby of our
hospital near the elevator (people have to wait there   sometimes...) and in
our OB waiting room.  On the flyer we also include the benefits of BF to
baby, mom, family, etc.

        5.Our childbirth educators also encourage attending the BF class and
remind their students to enroll.  They are also very    good at promoting BF
in each childbirth class using a variety of teaching methods to do this.

        6.We encourage moms to preregister.  This is done by mail or by phone to
my office.  About one week prior to the class,  we send out a reminder
letter that confirms their registration.  The letter also tells them more
about the class, what and who   to bring (their support person is encouraged
to also attend) and the commitment our hospital and medical staff have made
to      making their BF experience a positive one.


We offer the class monthly on a Saturday morning, now from 9am til noon.
We were offering it from 10am to noon, but a 12 month survey found that 87%
of the mothers attending the class needed more information on breastfeeding
and employment.  So, we added the extra hour to cover this subject.  Moms
who aren't planning to be employed outside of the home can leave at 11am if
they wish.

Over the past 4 years, the class has been taught by IBCLCs and CBEs.  It's
presently taught by our hospital's lactation consultant.  The behind the
scenes coordination is done by me.  I know everyone may not have the
resources I presently have.  It's taken a strong commitment and a lot of
hard work by everyone involved to make it as successful as it has become.
Our success is measured by our bf initiation rate, which hovers around 75%,
was around 55% in 1993 when we started the class.

If anyone would like to eyeball our brochures, flyers, or letters, please
e-mail me privately and I'll send what you need via snail mail.

Maurenne Griese, RNC, BSN, CCE, CBE
Birth and Breastfeeding Resources
Manhattan, KS  USA
[log in to unmask]