I like to use metaphors to explain ideas that are very new to parents.
They have expectations about babies that are hard to teach around.

When talking about breast milk production I refer to the alveoli and
duct system as being like broccoli in shape.  This helps them to
visualize the clusters well.  I use the standard breast structure
diagram with this talk.  I like to give them a clear visualization of
the breast structure to explain the nature of engorgement and it's
prevention and tx.

Another metaphor that I like is that breastfed babies are not gas
tanks.  They do not go from full to empty and than get a fill up.  I
explain that babies can be trained (forced, coerced) to get into this
mode with bottles of formula that digest slowly.  However, babies are
meant to be more like us grown ups.  We eat when we are hungry and drink
when we are thirsty and we don't watch the clock.

I then go into the "buffet" style of eating to explain cluster feeding:
we have a little salad, then some main course, socialize with our
friends, a few desserts, linger over coffee then not eat again for
hours. Mums and dads seem to identify well with this idea and see that
their babies are more like themselves rather than strange, unroutined
little aliens who never seem satisfied.

Thanks for sharing the analogies.

Janet Vandenberg RN, BScN, IBCLC
Newmarket, Ontario

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