"
> As I understand it, it is a Code violation to teach bottle feeding
in a group setting, though teaching bottle feeding to individuals is
fine. Now, what if everyone in the group, say, a breastfeeding class,
is interested in learning proper bottle feeding techniques? Could you
then include bottle feeding in the class?
I can see it seems to be a dilemma, but it isn't, not really :)
You can't include bottle feeding in a class setting, so they would all need individual education.
It's poor practice to teach bottle feeding to a group for two very sensible reasons
i)
it normalises bottle feeding and makes it appear that 'everyone' needs
to know about it because they are unlikely to bf or to bf for long
ii)
it is *ineffective* and actually *unsafe* to teach these skills (such
as preparing powdered formula, and paced bottle feeding) in a group
setting before they're needed, as people cannot learn properly like
this (imagine learning to swim solely by watching someone doing it many
weeks before you actually planned to hit the water yourself - would you
be able to swim safely or well? Or learning to drive that way? Do
hairdressing students learn to apply chemicals to people's heads weeks
before they actually do it for real, and just by watching someone else
do it? Does the beauty student learning to wax a bikini line develop
her skills that way? Hey, I'm on a roll here.....you get the picture,
that safety and effectiveness are compromised by group teaching!)
Ironically
enough, the call for teaching bottle feeding antenatally comes from
people who believe in i) - they *want* it to seem normal to bottle feed
and they think that deliberately excluding bottle feeding from the
antenatal classroom 'makes bottle feeding mothers feel guilty' : ( :( :(
Breastfeeding
antenatal education does best (IMO) when it encourages discussion about
social and emotional context, feelings, support, where to get help,
what normal babies need and how you can expect to meet those needs.
Technicalities about it should be mentioned and explained, but not at
length cos no one will remember the details.
Antenatal parents
want to know a lot of stuff and think they need to know it - it's not my
job to answer all questions or provide all the information they want.
They can find the info elsewhere if they really, really need to.
Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK
-- "
This would not be for teaching formula preparation; this would be for EBM, mostly for working mothers. The mothers would not be the ones doing the bottle feeding; it would be various types of other care givers. Hm. Well, then it does make absolutely no sense to teach bottle feeding. However, it also makes perfect sense to hand out information that can be given to the care givers on how to bottle feed correctly, since most of these babies will be in some kind of day care situation. The parents want the info, and they'll get it from formula companies if it's not from us. It's like getting information on sex from the other kids your age. Oy.
And I have to say that watching people doing something, even a few weeks in advance is helpful in doing it yourself. Remember the story of the gorilla who was raised in captivity? http://theverybreastthing.blogspot.com/2011/01/we-are-like-mamma-gorilla.html
I disagree about your stated reasons for teaching bottle feeding antenatally (wanting to normalize bottle feeding, and guilt). Those are not my reasons, nor the organization's reasons. It's because most of these babies will be bottle fed ebm, and the parents want to know how to do it right.
I agree with not overloading parents. They're not going to remember most of what we teach. The main things they need to remember are: breastfeeding is the normal, healthy thing to do, when and where to get help any issues that may come up, and where to find a support group. Everything else is commentary.
Julie Tardos
So, now what about teaching pumping techniques? Is that okay?
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