On the issue of teaching childbirth educators about breastfeeding:  I
recently took a childbirth class (I was expecting my second child and wanted
something different from the hospital-sponsored course I took prior to the
birth of my first child).  In any event, the instructor taught the class from
the assumption that everyone *would* breastfeed.  Alternatives were never
discussed.  Instead, BF was discussed at about half the sessions, so that by
the end of the class we had covered the whys, hows, any problems and how to
overcome them, and where to get support if you have problems (it was not
structured that way, it just worked out that that information was diseminated
by the end of the course, all in a very conversational sort of way).  I
really believe that at least two of the class members would not have
breastfed if not for this approach--that if anything on formula feeding had
been presented, that would have given it legitmacy.  As it was, I think they
felt really compelled to breastfeed.  I know that one of them had some
problems after her baby was born, but she has stuck with it, and even
contacted an LC to help her out.  The instructor was also an LLL Leader,
which probably helped with her approach.

Susan Smylie, LLL Leader