Hello!

In regards to the thread about the effects of antenatal peer support, I 
have experience w/ this over the past years in Spain that I would like to 
share.  Mothers in Spain had a series of 7 or 8 prenatal classes.  One of 
these classes was dedicated to bf.  Rather than teach that class, the 
nurses invited La Leche League to have a meeting for the mothers.  This 
was very different than a typical LLL meeting, where the attendees are 
actively seeking bf info/support, and often have a nursing baby along with 
them.  The biggest difference is that the mothers at LLL meetings actively 
participate, share info/concerns, see other bf mother/baby pairs, and have 
already thought about getting answers to bf doubts.

Initially I was sure that if all the mothers had antenatal exposure to 
good bf basics, phone numbers for help, and support from the nurse, more 
bf success would be a given.  I was surprised that the results were not 
quite as expected.  Most of the women came to the meeting because they 
were supposed to be there, and for the most part had made up their minds 
about how they would feed and more importantly "care" for their babies.  
(I think that CARE is the key word here because many cultural beliefs like 
not picking up the baby too often, getting the baby on a schedule, not 
letting the baby breastfeed to sleep, etc.  all interfered with getting 
the breastfeeding off to a good start.)  The mothers that had decided to 
bf before the meeting seemed to benefit, and the others did not (or at 
least much less than I had expected).

Because support was lacking from family, friends, or hcp's (apart from the 
nurses organizing the classes), the peer support wasn't as influential as 
I see in typical LLL meetings.  Getting the bf basics just didn't seem to 
be enough.  Changes in the cultural aspects of baby care that are 
conducive to breastfeeding, in my opinion, need to accompany the good bf 
info!


Gina Nigro
now living in Connecticut!!

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