"Back to my soapbox where I think EVERY medical workup should include the
questions: Were you breast or bottle fed?  If breast fed, how long? If it
didn't do anything other than make people aware that there is another way
to feed a baby, it would be worth the time. :)"

TO MD's: "Was your BF training virtually nilch like mine?  I
looked back in my old med school notes, only a tad taught about
nipple/stim, oxytocin, etc, maybe 1/2 hour and only 1 hour spent with a
lecture given in residency.  Most of my training came from personal
experience and read, read read.
Surprise, Surprise,  MD's don't know a thing about BF (but a lot are good
actors, and they sure know how to instruct weaning!)
 Ptnts need to make informed decisions on infant nourishment and the best
and easiest place for them to get it is their MD!"

Well, let's see...in the first year we have had one physiology lecture on
pregnancy/lactation (I teased the prof that it was a big topic for one
hour-- he screwed up a couple of points and the three BF mom/students in
the room were aghast).  We have had a few lecturers comment on lactation
here and there-- in a biochem lecture on proteins, in pharmacology (message
was: look it up-- that's at least a start).

As for updating the history-taking: We are taught to take sexual history as
part of the psychosocial history.  We are taught to ask not just about meds
you are taking, but also about herbs.  There is a lecture soon (not
required) on "Taking a Spiritual History."  Perhaps I can entice Dr. Gail
Hertz to arrange a lecture on "Taking a Lactation History"!  Sad to admit,
but Dr. Westphal is right-- serve lunch and you will get 110 hungry med
students there.

It's gradually getting better!

Kathleen Bellis
Penn State College of Medicine
Class of 2002