Tricia
I'm enjoying all the ideas you're sharing with
Lactnet. And you make some excellent points in
describing the problems with the materials you're
managing to access, and how they don't fit your
needs. I can certainly identify with this
experience. When I was an IBCLC in a developing
country I experienced many of the same
problems. Especially that almost all the info
sheets I managed to get hold of were excellent in
and of themselves, but they were just not quite
right for the needs of my own particular clients.
Firstly, they seemed to be written for very
sophisiticated settings, which took access to
pumps and other aids and devices, and indeed the
need for them, as a given. Secondly they seemed
to be written from the perspective that
breastfeeding was unusual in some way. Whereas
where I lived, breastfeeding was common and
normal, but breastfeeding gadgetry was almost
non-existent. Furthermore, the US$$ cost of
buying these inappropriate and unsuitable written
materials was quite out of the question.
I solved the problem by writing my own. Not only
can you tailor your own info to your client's
literacy level and lifestyle, you can use your
own discretion in deciding how much - or how
little - to say. Compiling your own info saves
you paying royalties and copyright to someone
else. Your own info with your own name/logo is
an effective form of advertising (I used to find
that new clients had photocopies of my existing
pamphlets so they obviously went the rounds, but
at least new mothers knew where to find
me....) You can compile your own informational
sheets on various subjects, or you can devise
tear-off care plans for common breastfeeding
difficulties, leaving blanks to be filled in by
you according to your individual client
needs. It takes time to research, sift and write
up what you want to say, and of course you must
give attribution if you use others' work in
compiling your own materials. But hey! No-one
else will say it quite like you do :-)
Pamela Morrison IBCLC
Rustington, England
------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2013 07:18:06 -0800
From: Tricia Shamblin <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Marketing to patients and resources for low income women
Hi everyone, Thank you for all of your great
input. I am in agreement about not marketing to
patients, and I have the opportunity to present
research to my staff. So I have been doing some
research and trying to put a presentation
together for RNs and MDs, including the research
from JAMA that showed that MDs are susceptible to
marketing practices and they are influenced by
feelings of obligation. I was looking for
opinions/research to help me when I speak to
them. I would prefer to make a policy of no
freebies/handouts, etc. from any commercial
company. But I'm just saying that's going to be a
hard sell, I need to be very clear and logical in
my arguments before I try to tell them that they
can't take baby shampoo samples from Johnson &
Johnson anymore. If I'm not backing this up with
research, they are just going to shoot me
down. As far as why we don't use other
materials made by Lactation Consultants. Yes, I
am finding some of these as I can, but I have to
be honest, it's not that easy to find resource
materials for women who have a low literacy
level. I have found several excellent website of
breastfeeding materials made by IBCLCs. However,
I think we tend to write things at a high
literacy level. These brochures often contain
many words, and if there are pictures they are
usually of white women. It's much harder to find
materials that are simple, basic, have pictures
of minority women breastfeeding, or are available
in Spanish. It tends to send the message that
only educated, white women breastfeed, I think.
Sorry, don't mean to offend, I don't think people
are doing this on purpose. We are just writing
what we would want to know. I think the LER
website is a perfect example. I don't mean to
pick on anyone here, there are many similar
websites. But after reviewing those materials,
they won't work for many of my patients. If you
are working with educated women those are great
resources. But of maybe 40 pages of handouts only
4 are in Spanish. I frequently work with 14 year
olds with no prenatal care, most of my patients
have a 6th grade reading level. I'm not going to
be able to use these materials with them. I need
materials that have few words, many pictures,
preferably with women of color and every flyer
must be in Spanish, too. Oh, and FYI, I have no
budget. Someone asked why I would want to give
a handout from Medela when I'm there to teach
them. I like to teach them, but then give a
handout as reinforcement. It's especially handy
for women who are pumping to have written
information about breastmilk storage. Finding a
real lack of resources for our patients, I have
written several on my own. But it's not so easy
to get them translated. Our interpreters are
incredibly busy and do not have time to
translate. One of the best websites I've found so
far is the government publications through DHHS,
US Womens Office of Health. After the Surgeon
Generals Call to Action last year, they printed
some new publications about breastfeeding. But of
course this year - budget cuts, so no more
brochures. But they can be downloaded from their
website so that is mainly what I'm using now. I
thought that the post was very informative about
how Medela's purpose is really to sell
breastpumps and other products, not promote
breastfeeding. That is an excellent point.But I
agree that there is a definite push towards
pumping lately. In our journey to become BFHI, I
spoke at the OB committee meeting, a new OB was
there and the first thing she said to me
sarcastically afterwards was, "Well, I hope you
are giving all of these patients a breastpump!"
So that's our main concern now? That everyone
should have a breastpump? We need to be very
supportive of pumping moms, but I agree there is
a definite shift in the culture towards the
assumption that everyone must pump. It's usually
the first questions people ask about in the
hospital now. Not how to getting breastfeeding
off to a good start, it's lots of questions about
pumping right off the bat. Even if they aren't
going back to work. Thanks again for all your
informative posts, Tricia Shamblin, RN, IBCLC
***********************************************
Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome
|
