Julie Taylor wrote: "One Mom told me that she felt that her baby must be
starving because he wanted to nurse all the time and that she must not have
any milk for him...Denial ++ but I am puzzzling as to why."

Sam Doak wrote: "Saving face. By "creating" another reality, they have been
able to save face, and prevent their own humiliation." 

As an experienced, educated breastfeeding mom, I still become convinced at
times that I'm not making enough milk--and I'm definitely not looking for a
reason to quit nursing. I know for myself that it can be hard to believe
that my body is really THAT powerful. There aren't many messages in our
culture about the power of women's bodies--we're mostly told that our bodies
are weak and the source of discomfort. It's important to explore the reasons
WHY a mom believes she's not making enough milk and to help her deal with
those underlying concerns and not assume that she thinks that way because
she doesn't want to breastfeed and is looking for a way out. 

There's been a little discussion here about the using of "social marketing"
techniques to promote breastfeeding. I recently attended a marvelous
workshop led by Cathy Carothers, in which she discussed the "Loving Support"
social marketing program Best Starts developed to encourage WIC moms to
breastfeed (for more info go here http://www.beststartinc.org/ and here
http://www.social-marketing.org/success/cs-nationalwic.html). Here are some
of my notes:

The social marketing model is "audience driven," in that its message is
based on what the audience, in this case, new moms, WANT. And according to
research, a new mom isn't driven by the health benefits of breastmilk, but
wants to be close to her baby, to have a strong family, to be a good mother,
to have a happy family. So, if you want to encourage moms to breastfeed,
talk about the tremendous bond breastfeeding creates between mom and baby.
(Does anyone know of research to support this argument?) 

The social marketing model also communicates that a behavior is "fun, easy,
and popular." We can help moms see breastfeeding as fun with posters of
smiling breastfeeding moms and babies in our offices or on the back of a
clipboard, showing films of happy moms breastfeeding during a prenatal
class, etc. In terms of "easy," we need to determine what skills moms need
to be more confident that they can successfully breastfeed and enjoy
breastfeeding and what obstacles may prevent them from succeeding and
enjoying breastfeeding. The top barriers to breatfeeding in our culture are
embarrassment, lack of workplace accommodations, lack of social support,
lack of support for nursing in public, lack of confidence, and fear of pain.
Figuring out an individual moms biggest barriers and brainstorming with her
about overcoming them is more helpful than heaping more information on her
about the benefits of breastmilk/risks of formula. Role-play talking with
her boss about accommodations or answering her mom's concerns about baby not
eating solids at six weeks. Tell her about the soothing powers of lanolin!
In terms of "popular," we need to determine whose opinion breastfeeding
matters most to mothers...research shows that to be the new mom's own mother
and her husband. Some WIC offices have taken to educating grandmothers about
how they can support their daughter's choice to breastfeed. 

Heaping upon expectant and new moms information about the benefits of
breastmilk/risks of formula isn't enough. Please don't make assumptions,
tell Mom about the special bond she will have with her breastfed baby, try
to understand her indvidual challenges and barriers, and help her find ways
to overcome them. 

Chris Musser
Co-Founder, Mom's Milk Anywhere
www.momsmilkmanywhere.org

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