Pam says:
<< Our local MOD has a fundraiser every year and they put up a huge sign
shaped like a baby bottle advertising it at the busiest intersection in
town.>>

Jan said:
<< I bet they'd get a LOT more money if they put up a giant breast that got
larger and larger the more money they got.

I started the day in rather desperate need of a laugh.  Oh thank you, Jan
Barger!

But seriously, folks . . . in 1996 I submitted a grant proposal to our
state chapter of the March of Dimes for breastfeeding education.  If memory
serves, we were awarded a $1500 grant from the MOD toward our speaker
budget for a bfing conference, which I chaired in 1998.  Keynote speakers
were Jack Newman and Karin Cadwell, along with Debi Page Ferrarello, Kathy
McGrath CD (DONA), and Gretta Blythe.  We had an attendance of 177, which
was quite remarkable for a group of volunteers working on a first-time
bfing conference for our area in Elkins, West Virginia (I now live in
Virginia).  Those attending included one pharmacist and 5 physicians, one
CNM/FNP, one WHNP, several IBCLCs, many nurses as well as dieticians,
childbirth educators and doulas.  For anyone who has ever worked on a first
conference, imagine our learning curve, including the necessary
paperwork/continuing ed applications for the various professions in
attendance.

We were very much hoping for greater attendance from physicians in our area
due to their WEAK bfing management skills (we sent out two mailings, one
teaser/"mark the date" and one brochure - - to 3,000+ folks on our mailing
lists).  We had underwriting from Medela, as well as sponsorship from the
state WIC program, the afore-mentioned state chapter of the MOD, and the
state chapters of the AAP and AAFP.  Newman and Cadwell spoke in the a.m.,
with Newman doing his beautiful "bfing in a bottle-feeding society" topic,
and Cadwell covering the latest health benefits of HM with supporting
references.  As I recall, 4 of the 5 physicians who sent in their
registrations did not attend these extremely insightful morning sessions,
so Newman and Cadwell essentially sang to the choir.

All five physicians who registered for our conference did attend the
afternoon sessions, however.  Four of the 5 were male (the lone female was
an active member of our bfing coalition, one of only two local
pediatricians serving our rural area, and the WV chapter's AAP bfing
coordinator.  In other words, the male docs NEEDED the info but the female
peds doc already had it very well covered.) Newman presented three
afternoon sessions on various aspects of medical management, and these were
the sessions that the docs attended (we had other concurrent sessions in
the afternoon as well).  It was sort of amusing to see the four male MDs
sitting all together up in the front row, right in front of Newman. What
wasn't amusing was that none of the docs were taking notes, so we could
only hope that they were willing to incorporate what they were hearing.  We
provided copies of every handout Newman sent to us, which were considerable
(see Jack Newman's website).

Two weeks prior to the conference we had all of two MD-registrations.  I
was heartsick.  At the two week countdown to the conference, our local peds
doc/bfing coalition member/state AAP chapter bfing coordinator (all one and
the same person) asked me how our registrations were coming along. I gave
her my update, which included the two MD registrations.  Weh-hel. . . . . .
she sent a memo to the docs in our little West Virginia town, stating that
this conference was a rare opportunity to hear an internationally-known
expert speak on topics that were much needed in the way of physician
education.  She further stated in her memo that she was tired of hearing
complaints in the community about their poor bfing management.  Sooo, that
shamed three more into attending.  What a woman!

Our coalition worked so hard on that conference.  In exchange, we received
an oxytocin and prolactin "high" that I'll never forget.

A year or two later, around 1999-2000, this same peds doc/state bfing
coordinator for the WV chapter of the AAP brought Marianne Neifert and Ed
Newton to Morgantown WV, home of West Virginia University, which has one of
the state's three medical schools.  There was plenty of publicity about the
event but was very poorly attended.  West Virginia's bfing initiation rate
is around 50 - 52%, as I recall from my years as a WIC bfing peer counselor
(1995-2000).  So frustrating - - Dr. Mom was in town, along with the son of
the late Michael and Niles Newton.  Heck - - I watched it on satellite from
our little hospital in Elkins (couldn't get to Morgantown that day), but
would have loved to have met them both.  I have two collections of Niles
Newton's published articles, one on birth and the other on bfing (ordered
from Cascade's Birth & Life Bookstore - - this collection includes her
eloquent speech given several months after the death of her husband,
regarding her husband's life and work as an obstetrician interested in
normal birth).  Have also much appreciated Ed Newton's LLLI module on
mastitis management.

Some time ago, there was a post from someone working on a conference,
asking for advice on how to get MDs to attend.  We thought having Jack
Newman in rural West Virginia in 1998 was such a great thing - - and IT
WAS - - but it appears to be a challenge to further educate people who have
been through medical school if the topic is breastfeeding (or is this true
of other health topics as well?).  The AAP position statement adknowledges
the need to educate medical students and residents, as well as the role of
pediatricians in becoming "knowledgeable and skilled in both the physiology
and the clinical management of breastfeeding."  Our lot in life as bfing
advocates and educators is a study in perseverance.  Of course it is
heartening that at least half of all new med school admissions are
female.

Back to the March of Dimes - - some letters are in order to the national
organization regarding the use of that bottle image.  Then submit a grant
to the MOD for some $$ to further educate your community.

Another perimenopausal insomniac,

Debbie


Debra Swank, RN BSN IBCLC
Winchester, Virginia USA

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