Again Carol Melcher of Loma Linda University's Perinatal Services Network
gives me the "theme" for teen breastfeeding classes - and it isn't
BREASTFEEDING - it's skin to skin, what babies need, what only YOU can give,
etc.

When we give a "breastfeeding class" whether it is to nurses or to moms, we
give the impression that our goal is "breastfeeding" - our goal is much more
than that!  It is attachment, bonding, responsiveness...and when baby is in
the right place at the right time - the BABY breastfeeds, not the MOTHER
(thanks to Nils Bergman for that great presentation in last year's ILCA
Conference).

Last month I got a true example of what this means - a teen hispamic mom
came with one of our Breastfeeding Coalition members to our Coalition
meeting, just because they were on their way to another office that was not
yet open - and I was giving a presentation that showed some self-attachment
episodes (I really don't even know which one she saw, as I was giving
various examples).

Well, this mom had not really planned to breastfeed - but just seeing those
few minutes made her realize she wanted to 'try' skin to skin right after
the baby was born! Well, guess what - baby crawled up and latched on...and
they are still breastfeeding.

Many L & D nurses have reported to us that it is difficult to get the
concept that the baby, unwashed and "just born" will NOT be taken to the
nursery but will be in mom's arms.

So...Rather than address all the problems, I'd concentrate on:
 - skin to skin 
 - normal infant behavior (crawling, latching, frequent feeding, needing mom
for warmth, etc.)
 - normal infant appearance - showing pictures of what babies really look
like 
 - resources and when to call them
 - and add her to a "tickler" list of moms YOU will call based on her due
date - because, as our research shows, moms don't call!

...at the same time, I would certainly give plenty of opportunities to
dialogue with them and have them ask about THEIR concerns.  (Open ended
questions) This would give you the opportunity to cover most of the problems
you would have lectured on...but they would be more likely to listen to your
answers to their questions than to a lecture...

Handouts from the California WIC may be useful:
http://www.wicworks.ca.gov/breastfeeding/BFResources.html

Jeanette Panchula, BSW, RN, PHN, IBCLC
Vacaville, CA

PS - I must confess I always bring two items: balloons to describe latch
better and Legos to demonstrate the differences between breast milk and
formula:
http://www.wicworks.ca.gov/breastfeeding/ResourceDocs/Lego_417_poster_1005.p
df

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