Laurie had some great suggestions - I also have been doing other jobs than
just direct patient care, such as being a consultant for the state Maternal,
Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) bureau reviewing their materials and
helping with updates there and in their website, for the county MCAH
department providing breastfeeding education for local agencies and those
who serve the pregnant and breastfeeding mom, and maintaining that website,
and the WIC Peer Counselor program.  

 

The important thing is to know where there will be funding (Home Visiting
and Peer Counseling are doing OK, compared to many others), and/or creating
a grant and funding - which is a challenge.

 

However, what made me write was Laurie's comment "I am 55 now, and I do
wonder or sense (or am I just imagining) the pregnant and lactating mothers
respond better to the younger LCs???"

 

My answer (age 65 on 9/11) is "it depends" - It depends on how you speak,
what you say, what is sensed by the mom, etc.  The Peer Counselors and WIC
staff that I work with are always pulling me in "to hear HOW you say it, not
just WHAT you say".and most moms leave with smiles Perhaps I'm able to
address them and they perceive me as a  mother/aunt/grandmother (great
grandmother?) figure.  

 

In the Birth and Beyond breastfeeding sessions for nurses, one concept that
caught my attention was that we now have this separations of the generations
that has never existed in humankind - the experienced women are in their own
apartments and moving into retirement homes, the young adults are on their
own struggling (believe me the smiles when I walk IN and OUT are priceless),
the teens and younger are kept away from breastfeeding  (it's sexual, you
know).

 

Originally and in many cultures the youngsters see babies and carry them all
over - giving them to mom only to breastfeed, the teens already know how to
handle and bathe babies and the young women know who in their community is
an expert - at everything from cooking to infant care.

 

When I was in my 40's I became a nurse - figuring that I would need to work
like crazy because I'd be "un-hireable" after age 55 or so - well, I
"retired" at 57, but have never lacked for MORE work than I want to do!  

 

.and as a La Leche League Leader, I can't tell you how often young moms
bring THEIR mothers to our group meetings so that they will hear what I have
to say.to get them off their back!

 

.so again I say, "it depends" when it comes to whether a mom will listen to
us older, wrinkled and experienced women.  Mostly, I believe it depends on
US and how WE communicate with them!   Thus my passion with communication
skills - not just among different cultures but also among different
generations - I treat teens as if they were a different culture - listen,
ask questions, provide targeted information.sound familiar?  See my articles
in Clinical Lactation.

 

 

Jeanette Panchula, BA-SW, RN, PHN, IBCLC

Vacaville, CA


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