Pam says: << Our local MOD has a fundraiser every year and they put up a huge sign shaped like a baby bottle advertising it at the busiest intersection in town.>> Jan said: << I bet they'd get a LOT more money if they put up a giant breast that got larger and larger the more money they got. I started the day in rather desperate need of a laugh. Oh thank you, Jan Barger! But seriously, folks . . . in 1996 I submitted a grant proposal to our state chapter of the March of Dimes for breastfeeding education. If memory serves, we were awarded a $1500 grant from the MOD toward our speaker budget for a bfing conference, which I chaired in 1998. Keynote speakers were Jack Newman and Karin Cadwell, along with Debi Page Ferrarello, Kathy McGrath CD (DONA), and Gretta Blythe. We had an attendance of 177, which was quite remarkable for a group of volunteers working on a first-time bfing conference for our area in Elkins, West Virginia (I now live in Virginia). Those attending included one pharmacist and 5 physicians, one CNM/FNP, one WHNP, several IBCLCs, many nurses as well as dieticians, childbirth educators and doulas. For anyone who has ever worked on a first conference, imagine our learning curve, including the necessary paperwork/continuing ed applications for the various professions in attendance. We were very much hoping for greater attendance from physicians in our area due to their WEAK bfing management skills (we sent out two mailings, one teaser/"mark the date" and one brochure - - to 3,000+ folks on our mailing lists). We had underwriting from Medela, as well as sponsorship from the state WIC program, the afore-mentioned state chapter of the MOD, and the state chapters of the AAP and AAFP. Newman and Cadwell spoke in the a.m., with Newman doing his beautiful "bfing in a bottle-feeding society" topic, and Cadwell covering the latest health benefits of HM with supporting references. As I recall, 4 of the 5 physicians who sent in their registrations did not attend these extremely insightful morning sessions, so Newman and Cadwell essentially sang to the choir. All five physicians who registered for our conference did attend the afternoon sessions, however. Four of the 5 were male (the lone female was an active member of our bfing coalition, one of only two local pediatricians serving our rural area, and the WV chapter's AAP bfing coordinator. In other words, the male docs NEEDED the info but the female peds doc already had it very well covered.) Newman presented three afternoon sessions on various aspects of medical management, and these were the sessions that the docs attended (we had other concurrent sessions in the afternoon as well). It was sort of amusing to see the four male MDs sitting all together up in the front row, right in front of Newman. What wasn't amusing was that none of the docs were taking notes, so we could only hope that they were willing to incorporate what they were hearing. We provided copies of every handout Newman sent to us, which were considerable (see Jack Newman's website). Two weeks prior to the conference we had all of two MD-registrations. I was heartsick. At the two week countdown to the conference, our local peds doc/bfing coalition member/state AAP chapter bfing coordinator (all one and the same person) asked me how our registrations were coming along. I gave her my update, which included the two MD registrations. Weh-hel. . . . . . she sent a memo to the docs in our little West Virginia town, stating that this conference was a rare opportunity to hear an internationally-known expert speak on topics that were much needed in the way of physician education. She further stated in her memo that she was tired of hearing complaints in the community about their poor bfing management. Sooo, that shamed three more into attending. What a woman! Our coalition worked so hard on that conference. In exchange, we received an oxytocin and prolactin "high" that I'll never forget. A year or two later, around 1999-2000, this same peds doc/state bfing coordinator for the WV chapter of the AAP brought Marianne Neifert and Ed Newton to Morgantown WV, home of West Virginia University, which has one of the state's three medical schools. There was plenty of publicity about the event but was very poorly attended. West Virginia's bfing initiation rate is around 50 - 52%, as I recall from my years as a WIC bfing peer counselor (1995-2000). So frustrating - - Dr. Mom was in town, along with the son of the late Michael and Niles Newton. Heck - - I watched it on satellite from our little hospital in Elkins (couldn't get to Morgantown that day), but would have loved to have met them both. I have two collections of Niles Newton's published articles, one on birth and the other on bfing (ordered from Cascade's Birth & Life Bookstore - - this collection includes her eloquent speech given several months after the death of her husband, regarding her husband's life and work as an obstetrician interested in normal birth). Have also much appreciated Ed Newton's LLLI module on mastitis management. Some time ago, there was a post from someone working on a conference, asking for advice on how to get MDs to attend. We thought having Jack Newman in rural West Virginia in 1998 was such a great thing - - and IT WAS - - but it appears to be a challenge to further educate people who have been through medical school if the topic is breastfeeding (or is this true of other health topics as well?). The AAP position statement adknowledges the need to educate medical students and residents, as well as the role of pediatricians in becoming "knowledgeable and skilled in both the physiology and the clinical management of breastfeeding." Our lot in life as bfing advocates and educators is a study in perseverance. Of course it is heartening that at least half of all new med school admissions are female. Back to the March of Dimes - - some letters are in order to the national organization regarding the use of that bottle image. Then submit a grant to the MOD for some $$ to further educate your community. Another perimenopausal insomniac, Debbie Debra Swank, RN BSN IBCLC Winchester, Virginia USA *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html