At 01:21 PM 9/11/96 -0600, Susan Horein wrote:
>Just brainstorming here, but what about having dads attend just one session
>of your BF class, or just the last half hour, or something like that.

My husband is pretty involved, overall but he always refers to himself as an
'ornament' at ob visits.  He went to all but one with our daughter and he
still says that.  I think having the moms together for a class and then
having the dads come in would tend to accentuate those type of feelings in
men who tend toward those feelings.  If there was a way to get the dads
there in the first class it might lessen it, but the worst way to do it (I
think) would be to have them come into the 'club' after the meetings have
been going on.  It's essential that dads learn about breastfeeding- and the
risks of bottles could be covered at the first class.  Maybe the middle
class could be problem solving (bottles in the hospital, identifying low
milk or pain...) for which the dads  could participate.  Just brainstorming
here of course.  :-)

I liked covering breastfeeding in an ALACE class- the instructors assume
that everyone will breastfeed and their assumption generally works out.
There is a selection factor as the class I'm thinking of was not taught
through a  hospital or physicians office.  This time I'll be taking a
hospital based class with one of the ALACE instructors so that we get first
hand experience with the quality of the education.  Yes-  We will be spies.
Kate, mom to Ursula,  21 mos old, 2'9", 25 lbs  ( 83.5 cm, 11.4 kg), and ???
due 3/30/97  in Boulder, Colorado.

A study of 78 primiparas examined the role of prenatal intent and postnatal
experiences in  breastfeeding duration. Those fully breastfeeding 3 months
after the birth of the baby had a higher level of education, timed their
decision to breastfeed earlier, intended to breastfeed longer and had a more
negative attitude to formula feeding. Commitment & confidence scores were
not related to breastfeeding duration in first-time mothers. Breastfeeding
duration was also related to the timing of the  first breastfeed and extent
of mother-infant contact in the 72 hours after birth but not to the number
of feeding problems. -  J Adv Nurs, 22: 5, 1995 Nov, 841-9
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