Becky,
I started one at the hospital we housed our clinic and program - we met
every Monday at 1:30 pm.  It helped to go by each mom's room while she was
in the hospital so she could meet me and I'd invite her to come back if she
had any doubts or questions.  I always had a Baby Weigh scale so moms who
were panicked about their baby's weight (weekends were long), could come by
and weigh their babies.  

I did not have a planned agenda, though I did have some things I always
covered. (How to know baby is getting enough, how to cope with negative
comments, why to keep to exclusive breastfeeding).  Most ot the time, we
had moms come two or three times, then they went on to the monthly La Leche
League meetings (I thought of us as a bridge as the monthly meetings are
too far in between for moms who have problems or doubts.)

The type of group changed from week to week - sometimes the moms from NICU
would come, other times they didn't.  Some times I only had moms with one
week olds - other times I'd have moms who wanted to know how to keep
breastfeeding and working.  I had one mom who was very alone in our town,
and every week she came, she told me she couldn't continue exclusively
breastfeeding, then she'd be back the next week - still exclusively
breastfeeding.  I finally said goodbye to her (her husband was back from
assignment and they were moving) - baby was 6 months - VERY chubby - and
exclusively breast fed.

Sometimes I felt the group was getting out of hand, too many real problems
that should have a private consultation, and not a group meeting.  However,
moms helped moms, and then they'd come later for the consultation - after
hearing from another mom how she had also been able to overcome this or
that problem.

Staff from the floor came to help if the group was too large and lots of
moms needed help.  It helped for them to see how the education they did (or
didn't) give was (or wasn't) remembered by the moms.  In fact, the support
group was one of my best educational tools for the nurses.  They didn't
have me lecturing them - I was talking to the moms - but the nurses heard
it too!

(Reminds me of when my teens were at the dinner table and I would talk to
my husband about the cases I was reading about and studying - I went to
nursing school late in life - STD's , teen pregnancy statistics,  etc - I
wasn't lecturing them, but they heard every word....)

Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, IBCLC
Vacaville, CA
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