In a message dated 3/20/2001 7:37:54 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
<< My next thought goes toward teens that are trying to finish
> school. How can they manage breastfeeding, while being at school?
> It looks as if we need to focus on preparing them to believe in
> breastfeeding.But, no matter how much advance planning the young
> parent does, she will probably be surprised at how much effort and
> time is required of her, after the birth of her baby (Lindsay, 2000).
> I also wondered how much of your clientele are teenage mothers? >>
I work in a public health center and have worked as the coordinator in a
BFing Peer Counselor Program so I have a great deal of experieince with
teens. Whehter or not they breastfeed depends largely on their support
system. Teens depend a great deal on their peers, boyfriends and family in
some cases. Many teens want to do a good job of being a mother, if not but
for one reason-to prove all the naysayers wrong !! But if their support
system looks on bfing as gross, nasty or sexual, they probaly won't BF. If
there is an active boyfriend, his opinion usually is the most important. So
it is important to include him in all education offerings. Peer counselors
are helpful -especially those who are teens or just out of their teens years.
They can encourage teens to come to BFing classes and bring their support
person-best friend, boyfriend or sometimes mother. They also can share
experiences and be that cheerleader for the mom.
The biggest obstacle is going back to school. Some school systems do not
offer special services or classes for pregnant teens with the reasoning they
don't want to "reward" sexual behavior. So if the teen manages to stay in
school, sitting in those wooden desks, keeping up attendance and school work
around WIC, clinic, DSS, Mental Health and MCC appointments etc., the teen
has to return to school within a few days of giving birth. In NC you can only
miss 20 days of school, no matter what, or you fail your grade. I worked with
one girl who was a senior and has missed 18 days of school when she delivered
the last of May. She left the hospital within 24 hrs of delivery and went to
school the next day for half day so she could graduate. She went half days
for two weeks postpartum. There is no concession made because it is the
law-mandatory attendance.
Then there is the problem of where and when to pump. I have not encountered
many guidance counselors or teachers who are willing to help in any way with
finding a space to pump, or giving the student a break to pump. And if the
teen wants to pump in the bathroom at lunch--remember how nasty those
bathrooms are, how noisy and if there is a line, how obnoxtious teens can be
to someone taking too much time in a bathroom stall. And teens can't go to
their car during lunch for security reasons. So unless they find a sympathic
teacher who will let them use their office during a planning period, they
have no options.
However, I have seen some great teens do a great job facing these obstacles,
almost defiantly in the face of authority figures. I worked once with a 14 yr
old who had a great support system of her mother and grandmother, however
everyone else including her doctor, the nurses, MCC workers, WIC, etc was
telling her to just go back to school and forget about this baby, let
grandmother take care of it, she needs to concentrate on school and getting
on with her life, etc. She BF for 6 weeks exclusively, partially BF for
another 3 weeks, including through a case of mastitis for which the doctor
(resident) hospitalized her and put her under "isolation" until I could
intervene with the Dean of the School of OB/Gyn at the Med school. She
finally gave in to all the opposition and weaned the baby at 10 weeks. She
was in Middle School and we were even accused of exposing the other students
to "things they weren't ready for yet" by the guidance counselor. Of course
no one ever considers the ithings they are exposed to by video games, comic
books, movies and magazines!
I think all Bfing Task Forces should have a schol representative on them, and
BFing information should be given to all school guidance counselors and
school nurses if there are any. NC has vey few systems with fulltime school
nurses.
Barbara Whitehead, IBCLC
Eastern NC
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