Hello!
In regards to the thread about the effects of antenatal peer support, I
have experience w/ this over the past years in Spain that I would like to
share. Mothers in Spain had a series of 7 or 8 prenatal classes. One of
these classes was dedicated to bf. Rather than teach that class, the
nurses invited La Leche League to have a meeting for the mothers. This
was very different than a typical LLL meeting, where the attendees are
actively seeking bf info/support, and often have a nursing baby along with
them. The biggest difference is that the mothers at LLL meetings actively
participate, share info/concerns, see other bf mother/baby pairs, and have
already thought about getting answers to bf doubts.
Initially I was sure that if all the mothers had antenatal exposure to
good bf basics, phone numbers for help, and support from the nurse, more
bf success would be a given. I was surprised that the results were not
quite as expected. Most of the women came to the meeting because they
were supposed to be there, and for the most part had made up their minds
about how they would feed and more importantly "care" for their babies.
(I think that CARE is the key word here because many cultural beliefs like
not picking up the baby too often, getting the baby on a schedule, not
letting the baby breastfeed to sleep, etc. all interfered with getting
the breastfeeding off to a good start.) The mothers that had decided to
bf before the meeting seemed to benefit, and the others did not (or at
least much less than I had expected).
Because support was lacking from family, friends, or hcp's (apart from the
nurses organizing the classes), the peer support wasn't as influential as
I see in typical LLL meetings. Getting the bf basics just didn't seem to
be enough. Changes in the cultural aspects of baby care that are
conducive to breastfeeding, in my opinion, need to accompany the good bf
info!
Gina Nigro
now living in Connecticut!!
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