Had to finally jump in here on this one as I have been teaching childbirth and/or breastfeeding classes for almost 20 years now.  To say that any kind of teaching is ultimately harmful is really throwing the baby out with the bathwater, in my opinion.  The Bradley classes that I took were instrumental in changing my whole attitude about my body and the birth of my baby.  They gave me the courage to buck the military and get the kind of birth that I wanted, with a private "hippie" doctor in a very small country hospital.  When I taught CB classes, I always made personal empowerment a big part of what we were talking about.  I would probably do them a lot differently now in other ways, but I think that even then, they were of great value to some of the couples and of moderate value to others.  When the hospital nurses took over the classes, they changed substantially and did do little except perpetuate the medical establishment line.  But there are still some Bradley instructors around, and others, who I think are doing whatever they can to try to turn the tide.

My breastfeeding classes are also about being honest with the couples about what is going to happen to them in the hospital and how it can affect their breastfeeding experience, if they let it.  I talk to them about the frequent difference in babies behavior depending on the birth experience.  I constantly remind them throughout the class that the most important thing for them to remember to do is simply to put the baby to breast whenever and wherever possible - they definitely know that 8-12 is the minimum.  What they do with the information is up to them.  I see a lot of light bulbs going off during class and I know that most of them are not hearing this stuff anywhere else.

Those that are in the trenches teaching classes within the hospital are doing a hard job, but I think that even those small steps may add up eventually.  I don't know how else you can effect change except by getting in there and mixing it up - that's how we did it way back when in the 60's.  Yes, some did drop out and form little communities unto themselves and that is fine.  But the great masses of people are not going to just up and buck the system for no reason - they need to hear and see the message over and over until it finally starts to sink in.  We need to keep challenging the establishment and being in the picture is the only real way that I know to do that.

So, I would say to all those teachers out there, stay the course.  If you don't think that your classes are effective anymore, then take a good look at them and change them, radically if necessary or possible.  Make your main message a simple one - breastfeeding is as old as mankind and the natural outcome of the birth process - fall in love with your baby, follow your instincts and just do it.

Warmly,
Sharon Knorr, BSMT, ASCP, IBCLC
Newark, NY (near Rochester on Lake Ontario)
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