Some more thoughts:
It is not my intention to jump on anyone, I am simply sharing my thoughts.
I enjoy reading everyone's thoughts. Especially when it offers ideas and
thought processes that are new to me, or that differ greatly from mine. This
offers me the opportunity to reflect and reconsider my thoughts and personal
beliefs, and often opens a new avenue of consideration, sometimes even causing
me to think in a new and different direction. (Sometimes your thoughts and
those of others are a real "Ah-Ha" moment for me and I change my mind
completely....)
Someone posted that group health teaching works and used childbirth classes
as an example. Sorry, I don't buy it.
If Childbirth classes were working:
1. The numbers of cesarean births, especially elective c-sections would be
down.
2. Women would not walk into the hospital calling for their epidural.
3. Word would get out about how wonderful they were and mothers would be
beating the door down to get in (Around here most agencies bribe the women to
show up.)
Maybe we just have really bad teachers here, but I think it has more to do
with it being a class. It is embarrassing to ask your "real" questions in front
of 10 other couples, all strangers. It is easy to "tune out" when there are
so many people in the room, and you do not have the undivided attention of
the instructor. Especially if she spends long discussing someone else's
question which has no relevance to me and in which I am not at all inerested...
Like all other health teaching, childbirth information is best shared one on
one.
I realize that this is not always possible. But I continue to think that
time spent one on one conveys a value and importance to the subject that you
cannot duplicate in a group setting.
On the other hand, Jaye....
I can see where your small group idea could be beneficial for these parents.
It would allow them an opportunity to build a social support network that
could really have an impact for them.
I am just not convinced that they would learn bottle feeding techniques and
formula preparation any better in a social (group) setting than if they just
read the directions themselves. There is too large a potential for
distractions, side conversations, and sharing of stories about "how my
mother/sister/auntie did it".
I think if there was any evidence that this worked we would see classes for
parents on
j-tube, tracheotomy, catheter care. After all, there are many parents who
need this information also - more perhaps than some realize.
I also think that the reason we see childbirth classes is because it is not
considered a "serious" issue to "them". But, that is political and shows my
personal bias against the medicalizaton of birth and delivery, so we will not
go there.
Laura Wright
, BA, LLLL, IBCLC, RLC, CLE
TOLL FREE BREASTFEEDING HELP IS AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY
CALL 877 4 LA LECHE (877 452 5324).
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