I have the same trouble. Our Patient Ed committee requires that all
materials be written on a 4th grade level: no more than two 3-syllable
words per 30 short sentences. The only way around this is to spell it out
phonetically:  colostrum (koh-LAH-strum).

I am forced to split 'breastfeeding' into two words. Just think of all the
3-syllable words: lactation, engorgement, compression, lanolin, formula,
microwave, refrigerator, gradufeed, pacifier, schedule, areola, diarrhea,
constipation...  They even decided that 'diaper' is a 3-syllable word as
in: DI-a-per. No wonder only college educated women can learn how to
breastfeed (she said VERY cynically!)

Everything I have brought to the committee from LLLI, Best Start, etc, has
been rejected because it's too high a reading level. They rejected the
LLLI/Kiwanis poster because it was too busy, too many topics, pictures not
relevant to the topic lines, not enough white space...  Even Best Start
materials in Spanish were rejected because of an inappropriate vocabulary:
more Cuban or Puerto Rican than Mexican villager. ("OUR patients will never
understand THAT word.")

Obviously there are a number of moms in our census from south of the Border
who have little to no schooling, but we are not allowed to discriminate by
offering skills-appropriate materials to different patients. Who are WE to
judge any individual's ability to read! HUH?

Later, I got smart. I learned there is one sneaky way around the Pt Ed Com.
Write your materials and use the Tools in Word to check for grade-level.
When it qualifies, offer it to your Collaborative Practice Committees for
review. They will accept the content more readily than the Pt Ed Com will.
When it is approved, send a copy to the Pt Ed Com 'for their records.' Tell
them what the grade level is and how you determined that. Tell them it has
already been approved for use by the NICU, Peds, &/or OB Collab Prac Coms.
Then copy it and USE it. Done deal! When the front door slams, go in the
side door.



--- Phyllis Adamson, IBCLC
--- Glendale, AZ, USA
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