Hi all
This thread has caused me to wonder ... Does LLLI not run mother-to-mother
support groups in your area? Could you not run your groups in conjunction
with theirs? Perhaps meet on the same day of the week in the same location
(could you invite them to meet in your location?) but on different weeks of
the month.  Then mothers have the option of a fortnightly meeting and you
also provide a pathway for the mums who love the grup to train as leaders so
they can help the next 'generation' of mothers. Could you not just refer
mothers to LLLI?  I wonder this because I am personally averse to
reinventing a wheel that works well.  (I confess I have no direct experience
of LLLI so I don't know if their groups in your area work well or meet the
needs of the mothers you are reaching.)
Here in Australia, the difference between Australian Breastfeeding
Association Groups and the 'Breastfeeding Support' that is run by the Area
Health Service is firstly NO SCALES (they are counter productive - in our
groups mothers learn other ways to be absolutely sure their babies are
getting sufficient milk), secondly, mothers with babies of many different
ages attend so there is a sort of informal apprenticeship process going on.
Mothers with new babies ask how others have dealt with (whatever issue) and
more experienced mothers make suggestions. Living proof that difficulties
can be overcome are the breastfeeding babies who attend every fortnight.
Nothing is more encouraging than that.  Counsellors are on hand to answer
curly questions, debunk myths and to counsel individual pairs.  Food is
important. Mothers are encouraged to bring a plate of (healthy - ish)
morning tea to share although the newbies are just encouraged to come along
- even if they are still in their slippers - and the more experienced mums
usually bring extra.  Meetings are chaotic often, because toddlers are
welcome but we try to meet in venues where there is a playground outside
(often a church hall or community centre) which can be seen from the meeting
room.  If that is not possible, we take turns to watch the older kids.
Mothers often attend for many years after they have finished breastfeeding.
In our area there are seven groups across two local governemtn areas and
some mothers go to three or four every fortnight.  AHS breastfeeding support
generally only has mothers with young babies who are experiencing
difficulties and the Child and Family Health Nurse (Health Visitor, Well
Baby Nurse) (often also an IBCLC) who runs it is very definitely the
'expert' everyone wants to talk to.  
ABA groups often have ff mothers in attendance, who work through their grief
and often go on to bf future babes. 
Cheers
Nina Berry BA/Bed(Hons) Dip Arts(Phil)
Breastfeeding Counsellor
PhD Candidate - "Ethical Issues in the marketing of 'Toddler Milks'"

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]