A suggestion was made on Lactnet that teens should be asked to write their
questions down beforehand, so that those that are embarrassedto ask can do so
anonymously. I've actually thought about doing that, but my population is not
very literate so I've been hesitant to use this tool....
On Friday I tried something new, I'm always trying something new to try and
reach people! I said that I would write a word on the blackboard and ask them
what their first reaction was; the first word was FAT.  One woman said
"cholesterol".  Anway, the point was to trigger a discussion of the contents
of breastmilk, and how each ingredient is suited to the baby's needs. I used
to just say that human milk has the right kind of fat to help the brain and
nervous system develop; but then I got to thinking how people in this
population, not having read very much, are going to make the WRONG
connections--oh, fat is BAD! breastmilk has FAT, breastmilk is BAD!  but they
may not come out and say it. So this way, I get them to make the associations
in front of me so that I can explain that babies NEED fat! I did that with
sugar, too (LACTOSE) and how that also develops the baby's brain. I'm hoping
this will work! During the discussion on FAT, I tell them how formula is
made, that the fat is taken off the cowmilk and sold at a higher profit as
butter and cream, and how vegetable fat needs to be added back in to supply
the fat the baby needs, and how the fat is missing important ingredients...
For those of you who want to know, my brother took the stock investment tip,
Martek was doing very well, has retreated a bit, but is still up there....
Glad to be back!
Pearl Shifer, M.Ed., IBCLC