Hi, as a brief introduction, my name is Gina and I am a third year
(BSN) nursing student at a large, urban university in the southeastern
United States.  I am also volunteering at the public hospital in this
area as a breastfeeding counselor.

My first question involves how to tactfully and appropriately educate
the nursing faculty at my university regarding human lactation.  I
have already done my pediatrics and maternity coursework and clinicals.  I
was very disheartened that the topic of breastfeeding has barely been
mentioned in lectures (the perfunctory "breastfeeding is best", but
nothing else), and our clinical experiences were in line with the
archaic separation of mother and baby, with the nursing functions of
measuring, weighing, and bathing the babies taking precedence over
making sure that the mother is able to breastfeed the baby.

I was happy that I had enough experience and knowledge to help the new
mothers with breastfeeding questions, but I am concerned that my
university is not properly preparing nurses to work with new mothers.
After all, we're going to be nurses well into the twenty-first
century!  And how is the US going to reach the "Healthy People 2000"
breastfeeding goals if our schools of nursing don't even mention human
lactation?  In my case, we are still being taught using the
"bottlefeeding is the norm" model, and I could barely stomach it.

Please share your experience and knowledge with me regarding this
concern.  Also, if anyone knows of a specific agency that generates
programs or literature to help schools of nursing educate their
students about breastfeeding, please fill me in.  The faculty at my
university is sick of hearing from me on this issue, and if I could
have some written data to present to the people in charge, I'm sure it
would be more effective than anything I have to say.

Thank you so much for your assistance.