Teens need different information and support than other moms-to-be! First, you may want to cover all the basics in each of your meetings with the teens, and then cover one topic in-depth if you'll be meeting with them more than once. I have found this age group to be highly mobile: living with mom, living with dad, living with her best friend, living with her boyfriend's ex-stepmother, etc. You may only get one chance to teach and inspire! Ask what they've heard about breastfeeding. Dispel the myths and clarify the misunderstandings. "I like spicy foods, so I can't breastfeed" "I don't want my breasts to sag" "I can't give up chocolate and I know I can't eat chocolate if I breastfeed" "I heard it hurts a lot" Find out their concerns. Sometimes I have everyone write a question on a piece of paper anonymously. Invite her to bring any guests she wants to bring along. Moms, boyfriends and best friends can be a tremendous amount of support to a new breastfeeding mother of any age. Let the guests know how they can support her decision to breastfeed. Give dads and grandmas-to-be a list of ways to "bond" with the baby without giving a bottle. I also review with them how to be assertive with the hospital staff about supplementary feeds and artificial teats. I truly believe that teen mothers, especially unmarried, poor teen mothers are not treated as the competent people they are. Their requests are often ignored. Keep the group active, they bore easily. Have them swallow with their ears, shoulders and hips lined up. Then have them turn their head and swallow. Have them inhale through their noses. Now let them smash their noses and see how much more easily they can breathe. Let them know that's why babies have those cute little noses. Pass around a walnut to demonstrate the size of a newborn's tummy. Emphasize the benefits to the mother: quicker return to pre-pregnancy weight, etc. Usually, they're very interested in what's in it for them. I present the health benefits to the baby, of course, but still talk about less time in the doctor's office or clinic, less time awake in the middle of the night with a crying baby, etc. Have them practice discreet breastfeeding positions in front of a mirror, if possible. Have their best friend or boyfriend give them feedback. I have found most of these young women to be very modest. Ask for a volunteer male member of the group to "breastfeed" a doll. Recently I switched to an Elmo doll (of Sesame Street fame). He's not humanlike, he's almost the right length (18"), his arms are floppy, and his mouth is open wide! My thanks to Tani Pryce for this idea. I have the other participants critique his positioning. They usually love this part of the talk. Assume they know nothing. You will probably be right. This is not a population of readers! I like the pamphlet Breastfeeding--Getting Started in 5 Easy Steps, available from Childbirth Graphics. The pamphlet has a lot of pictures and not too much text, but it is not condescending in the least. Let the mother know that breastfeeding this child is something only she can do. Many of the girls are concerned their own mothers will take over, and knowing this is something only they can do for their baby often gets them to at least consider breastfeeding. Bring a breastfeeding teen mom with you on the talk. I've only done this a few times, but it is very effective. The group is usually very interested in the baby at first, but then has a lot of questions for the mom: does it hurt, where does the milk come out, do you give bottles in public, how do you know if the baby's getting enough....A mix of standard new mother questions and those only a teen would ask another teen. Leave them with your card. Let them know they can call and that you do return messages. If anyone comes up to you after the talk, answer all her questions, and then, if you can, call her and follow up. They love freebies. I once gave out breastfeeding stickers that actually ended up on notebooks and binders. Remember, our competition gives out plenty of freebies and coupons and club memberships. Make the goal simple. I usually want to at least introduce the idea of breastfeeding as a possibility. I have never given a teen talk when any girl said she was planning to breastfeed. Even if none of the girls go on to breastfeed, I hope I may have changed a few attitudes and they'll be supportive of friends or classmates who do choose to breastfeed. BTW, the first woman I ever saw breastfeeding was a sixteen-year-old mother feeding her four-month-old when I worked for our local School-Age Mother's Program. I was completely fascinated. I couldn't believe you could really feed a baby like that.