Dear Michelle,

I put notes in their feed-back box every time I go. Doesn't it drive you
crazy?

 I've been thinking that it might be a good master's project to design and
produce a lactation display for them, one that could even be trotted around
to the other science museums around the country. I hope it could be any
where near as beautiful as the Marie Cassatt exhibit.

I just did a paper on the factors that seem to influence duration of
breastfeeding and the consensus seems to be that women breastfeed just about
as long as they originally planned to, assuming that they get help when
difficulties arise. The problem is that women just don't plan to breastfeed
for the full year suggested in the Healthy People 2000 Objectives.  An
education project like the one I envision for the Museum of Science might be
an effective intervention in the long-term to shape the intentions of the
coming generations of breastfeeding women. One limitation is that the
children who get taken to the museum on a regular basis are in the
demographic group that least needs the intervention. They speak English,
will go to college, and will have incomes over $20,000/year. But I guess it
might be a good start toward reshaping society's overall attitude toward
breastfeeding. Another problem is that we might have to wait 20-30 years to
do the evaluation piece of the project!

You mentioned ILCA. What if we could suck in the ILCA affiliates to
cooperate on the project?

The present display at the Boston Museum of Science has been up for at least
10 years. Wouldn't a new improved version be a nice legacy for our children
to show their children?

Bonny Nothern, IBCLC
Master's candidate at Massachusetts General Hospital, nurse practitioner
program
Co-president, MLCA
Private practice in Acton, MA
Mother of three teenagers, wondering how long she can hold on.........

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