This weekend I had the pleasure of spending quality time with a
15-year-old nursing mom. She was very knowledgable about breastfeeding.
When I told her how impressed I was with her knowledge, she sai
that the school she attends for pregnant teens and teen moms offers a
breastfeeding class for which they receive 1 hour of academic credit itf
they attend. They are also allowed to feed their babies during class. Of
the mothers who have had their babies, she says 19 of 20 are
breastfeeding.
While she was in the hospital, a student nurse suggested she give the
baby a pacifier. The 15-year-old informed the student nurse that
breastfed babies should not have pacifiers or bottles in the first month
and that they don't ever really need them. I will address the student
nurse/breastfeeding education issue with the instructor, but this was a
good sign that culture is slowly but surely changing in the right
direction.

Cheryl Bean-Moody,BS,IBCLC
Waterville, Maine