As someone who works in the community, I often hear from new moms how much
different information they are told in the hospital and by HCPs and how
hard it is to sort out what is correct information.  When asked to do
presentations at hospitals, I have found it effective to post a typical new
mom question like "how often and for how long should I let my baby nurse."
I have each person in the seminar write on an index card how they would
answer that question...no names are on the cards.  I gather those cards,
sort them and post the wide variation of answers.  (and my
experience is that it's always a wide variation of answers but if someday I
get all consistent and correct answers, it'll be a wonderful opportunity to
reinforce what a great job they are doing)  We then talk about how mom can
best sort through inconsistent information (because even if she gets all
the same answers in the hospital, she'll probably get lots of different
answers from mother-in-law, pediatrician, girlfriend, LLL leader, etc.)
and/or how the hospital can works towards consistent, correct information.

Other questions that often get a wide scope of answers...
if my baby seems hungry after he nurses, will it hurt him if I give him a
little formula?
dad wants to feed the baby, when is it ok to feed her with a bottle?
how do I know if my baby is getting enough to eat?
etc. etc.

Mandatory inservices are a delightful challenge.  It's my true belief that
the more interactive training sessions are, the more effective they
are...it's hard to zone out when more is expected of you than to sit there
and absorb "stuff".  Adult learning studies show that very little
information is retained for long term through lecture formats.  And if I'm
going to put time and energy into preparing presentations, I really want
them to remember and utilize more than 10% of what I say.  I often feel
that lecture is a bit like being bottle fed, you don't have to work very
hard for it.  Whereas, more interactive training sessions are more like
breastfeeding, you have to be more actively involved. (oops, I can feel
myself getting on a soapbox about adult learning, so I best step down and
sign off)

Teri Shilling, MS, CD, FACCE, IBCLC
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