Dear Kris,

I gave the lecture on breastfeeding to nursing students in their maternity
nursing course at a local college for several years.  (I was an alum and the
professor was a friend of mine.  I even got paid!)

The temptation is to lay a whole load of info on them.  It's better to resist
that temptation and focus on presenting a few important points in a way they
will remember.  You want to reach them in their role as future parents,
future friends and relatives of babies, future colleagues of health workers
who become parents...not just as nurses in a maternity rotation.  At the same
time, you want to give them some tips on what to do in their clinical
experience---how to approach a nursing mother and baby and be helpful to them.

It's a good idea to confer with the professor to select two or three points
that you will cover thoroughly, that can later be tested in an exam.  That's
a great way to get some respect for info about breastfeeding!

Whatever the breastfeeding incidence in your area, you want to frame
breastfeeding and lactation as a NORMAL part of women's reproductive life.
If bf rates are low, then you need to spend more time focusing on barriers to
breastfeeding.  If rates are high, then the students are more likely to
encounter bf women and babies, so they need practical info on how to assess
and assist.  There are usually men in the class, so you need to talk about
the father's role.  And there are often women who have not breastfed, so you
need to take their experience into account.

Videos and slides are very good ways to get students' attention.  So is
bringing a nursing mother and baby to class.  So is a handout---but again,
not one telling them EVERYTHING you think they should know!

I once had a great discussion with the class exploring reasons women in our
culture were uncomfortable with breastfeeding and lactation.  We listed a lot
of details about breastfeeding: it involves two people; there's an intimate
contact between bodies and an exchange of body fluid; hormones are released;
it's part of reproduction; it's pleasurable for both partners; it takes a
little time to learn and isn't always comfortable at first; it's free...etc.
It was fun to see the light bulbs go on in their brains as more and more of
them saw the parallels to sex---this, of course, pushed their buttons, being
the age they were!

Good luck.  I hope you get a chance to do this.
Chris Mulford

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