In a message dated 3/31/00 5:44:30 AM, [log in to unmask] writes:
<< When I was working with teenagers, I found that breastfeeding gave them
"ownership" of their baby; this was something that only THEY could do, even
if grandma was going to be taking over so mom could return to school. This
aspect often appealed to them. >>
I have worked extensively w/ teen mothers. What we learned in our program was
that if we could help these moms think of their babies as being *w/in* their
circle of self, rather than outside of it, they were more likely to bf. In
other words, it is normal for teens to be self-centered, so rather than try
to change this, we tried to use it to the advantage of the babies and the
mothers. We actually had very high breastfeeding rates among teen mothers,
but *many* variations related to family structure, relationships w/ the
fathers, school situations, abuse histories, gestational ages of the babies
and so on.
Some of the biggest barriers were:
1. The greater value placed on education than on mothering by schools, social
workers and institutions.
2. Unsupportive mothers (of the teens) who refused to care for bf babies
(they are *too* attached), who simply didn't value bf or who preferred to
raise the babies themselves (thus undermining bf)
3. Extreme difficulty in pumping in school
4. Very short pp leaves from school (sometimes only a few days, as someone
else mentioned)
5. Belief that boys (or more rarely) girls should *not* be bf, but okay to
nurse the opposite sex
6. Obstetrical staff extremely insistent that all teen mothers take depo
provera or birth control pills (depo to be given before discharge, the
pill--often combined, to begin the Monday following discharge)
Despite all of this, many of our teen clients bf and for long periods.
Interestingly, we found that those who delayed a return to school until their
babies were about a year old did better upon their return to school and were
more likely to graduate (or get a GED), bf long-term, and were less likely to
conceive another baby as soon as AF mothers. Attaching to their babies tended
to focus them and motivate them to look towards the future with greater
maturity and planning.
BTW, our teen clients were often the most willing to become educated
about birth and attempt natural births.
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA
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