Since LOTS of my BF teaching is in childbirth classes, the dads are usually
already in attendance. They really appreciate the information. The most
common reason I hear people give about why new moms "need" to have bottles in
the house is so that DAD can be a part of the baby's life and won't feel left
out. By giving information on how dad's can be a part of baby's life and part
of breastfeeding (by helping the mom) they begin to see that giving a bottle,
is detrimental to their babies and they have their "own" things they can do.
Also, excluding dads gives a (maybe not so) subtle message that they can NOT
contribute and are, in effect, a third wheel.  And, it seems to me that I
read somewhere that one of the main reasons moms often give for quitting BF
is lack of support from the father. If you were feeling excluded and saw the
only way to be included was to give a bottle...

An interesting note, though. I once made a home visit, and while working with
the mom in the bedroom, I left her brother (age 22, recent college grad)
brother, their parents, and his fiancee watching a video on BF. About 10
minutes later the brother yelled out from the tv room, "Hey, sis, according
to this video my nephew is having to twist his neck to eat. When I was
watching this morning, you were NOT turning his whole body toward you!!!"

I thought this was great. The brother and his fiancee planned to BF any
future babies and I'll bet this guy would be offended if left out of BF
class. There have been EXCELLENT posts on how to take the edge of
embarrassment in coed classes and get dads involved, as well as how to deal
with moms attending alone. Some LLL groups have enough energy to hold couples
meetings and our group did it a few years ago. I would like to hold more, but
need to find that extra energy and time that it would take.

Margaret Ann
Margaret Ann Paxton
"If you don't know your options, you don't have any."