Barbara,

I like the points you've made about bf presentations.

I too, find humor is a great opener and interest maintainer.   I think it
is important to give people something they think they can use especially at
the resident level.  Residency is a time when you're trying to figure out
what to do when something goes wrong (this can feel pretty overwhelming at
times) so I try to tailor things to the practical issues.

Breastfeeding seems so mysterious and confusing to some people - my first
point is:

1.Breastfeeding is not rocket science.  (you CAN understand this)
then,
2.Anticipatory guidance  can prevent/minimize problems (& 3am calls)
then,
3. This is how breastfeeding works (like a campfire, not like a faucet)
then,
4. practical situations - can be examples with questions (given what I just
told you, what do you think is going on? How can you help in this case?
What advice/different management could have been given to avoid this
situation?
lastly,
5. generous Q&A time at the end.
The great thing about part 4 is it allows you to assess their understanding
of the previous information and gives them practice at recognizing bad
advice.

Interesting to note - I've been taking an informal survey of med students
who I know had a 1 hour lecture on breastfeeding and the vast majority have
no recollection of anything ever being said about breastfeeding at all!

Gail
Gail Hertz, MD, IBCLC
Pediatric Resident
author of the little green breastfeeding book - disclaimer: owner of Pocket
Publications