I am aware that many people have had negative experiences when they appeared
on television to talk about breastfeeding.  Due to the recent discussion
here, I am concerned that some people may decide never to take the "risk"
themselves if they have the opportunity.  That is why I want to tell you
what happened to me about this time last year.

I was invited to appear as a LLL Leader on a local talk show, sponsored by
our Women's Commission.  The theme of the show was to be "Breastfeeding:
Getting Comfortable."  The interviewer was a member of the commission and
also a breastfeeding mom.  The other guest was Dr. Kathy Leeper (also on
Lactnet), the medical director and IBCLC of MilkWorks, a nonprofit
breastfeeding center here in Lincoln.  Both Dr. Leeper and I had had the
opportunity to assist this breastfeeding mom get off to a successful
beginning breastfeeding her baby.  Also on the show, interviewing members of
the audience (which included many breastfeeding moms) was the director of
the women's commission, an ardent supporter of breastfeeding in our
community.

We had a great time taping this one-hour program.  The time literally flew
by and we shared laughter along with stories of breastfeeding.  Dr. Leeper
underscored the theme that breastfeeding is not supposed to be painful and
we talked about how we can promote and support breastfeeding in our
community.  Everything that was said on the show was positive.  I could not
have asked for more!

I was not sure if anyone would be watching this show because it was going to
be on the city government channel on cable television.  It aired 5 times a
week at various times throughout the day for 2 months.

Here is the great part:  An incredible number of women watched this show!
And men!  Parents and grandparents.  People with no children.  All kinds of
people watched.  And they enjoyed the show.  They found it entertaining and
enjoyable.  People over 65 told me they saw me on TV and watched the entire
show.  The cashier at the supermarket watched it and she has no children.
Months later, people recognized me as "that woman who was on the
breastfeeding show on TV."  I ran into a former roommate who I hadn't seen
in 11 years last weekend and she told me she had watched it, along with her
sister.  I had a LLL help call two weeks ago and the woman *recognized my
voice* and asked if I were the woman on the breastfeeding show.

I think the program reached so many women because the channel was at the
lower end of the cable spectrum, and people flipping through the channels
were likely to see it.  It was on so many times, you might have to actively
avoid it in order not to see it.  But the amazing thing to me is that I have
heard from several women who watched it before they became pregnant and they
are now breastfeeding.

And, just to show this was not a total aberration, I also had a brief
appearance on a local commercial network during World Breastfeeding Week.  I
was able to explain a few things about LLL and talk about why moms should
breastfeed.  The interviewer herself (a young woman with no children) asked
me about a study showing that not breastfeeding increases a woman's risk for
breast cancer.

I agree with Jodine that we need to have that direct access to large groups
of people.  You would be surprised at the impact a one-hour program (with no
commercials!!) can have in a small city.

Sara Furr, LLL Leader
Lincoln, NE

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