As a hospital based LC, I spend a great part of every day teaching to
mothers individually, in their rooms. I try to find a good moment, when
things are calm, and I try to sit down with the tv off, the phone off the
hook, and at a time that there are no interruptions from friends or family
(not easy to do).  Then I go over the questions the mom has, find out how
things are going, ask about her labor and delivery, and then go over a
whole list of important things, such as cueing in to baby, positioning and
holding the baby, how to know a good latch and what it should feel like,
not using pacifiers, burping, length of nursing, frequency of nursing,
waking techniques, early weight loss and gain, the milk coming in,
prevention of engorgement, sore nipples, diet, fluids, how to tell if baby
is getting enough, and whether or not she is going back to work or
interested in teaching the baby to use bottles at some time.  This is a lot
to talk to her about, and on a day when she is tired and when she is sore
and maybe not always hearing everything.  But it is the ONLY opportunity I
have for one on one, so I do  this.  I also give the mom a booklet I wrote
which will reiterate what I have said and give even more detailed
information on all of the above, for her to take home and use for referral.
 Plus moms can call if they have questions.  But sometimes, maybe
oftentimes, I think they really don't get a LOT of what I say.  Because
they will ask me again the next day or when we speak on the phone.  I call
them all back on day 3 and also day 5.  Yesterday I read an article on how
people learn, and I read that a great many people are not auditory
learners.  They must be shown, or they must do it themselves.  So I have
decided to bring along my little teaching doll for a while to demonstrate
the positioning and the waking and the burping, and to bring along the
little breast model to demonstrate the milk ducts and the latch on and the
engorgement.  Maybe then those who are visual learners will be able to
remember more of what I teach to them.  Anyway, its worth a try.  Does
anyone else ever get frustrated with how little moms remember?  I watched a
video once about postpartal women, and it said never to try and teach them
really important things the first day postpartum, to try to teach them
prenatally or later in the first week.  Yet, that first day is the day I
have, and the day many of you have to teach, and then they are home.  If
the baby is awake and ready, of course it would be nice to demonstrate with
their own little one. Sometimes they are sound asleep and sometimes they
are not in the room when I go in.  I do try to assess the baby at the
breast several times during the first day too if it is possible.  I would
appreciate any other ideas to help the visual learners remember what is
taught.

Ann Calandro,RNC, IBCLC
Piedmont Medical Center
Rock Hill, South Carolina