Mary Alice asked about ideas for teaching an infant care class to expectant
parents at her hospital, and trying to include breastfeeding and Attachment
Parenting themes.  Mary Alice, I have run similar classes ("groups", I call
them) to brand new postpartum mothers in the community for the past four
years.  Many of the new moms I see may already have an idea of the
Attachment Parenting philosophy based on how they were referred to me (by
certain midwives, LC's,  like-minded pediatricians, other moms, or they get
the hint from some of the text in my brochures.  That I also sell slings is
a tip-off. Other moms somehow arrive on my doorstep with no idea of the
*shocking* ideas they will encounter during the groups.  They all come
around- it is amazing. My job is to present ideas that some may not be
aware of as options, or may not have known that can work successfully, ie,
co-sleeping,  breastfeeding for the full first year or longer, combining
working and nursing/pumping.

Some ideas for you would be to include casual, matter of fact statements
during your class to introduce these parents to some things they may not
have thought much about before.  For example, maybe you will talk a little
bit about SIDS and prevention, and then comment that babies who are
breastfed and live in smoke-free environments are less at risk for SIDS.
There's a plug for breastfeeding. You will talk about safe bedding, no
puffy quilts, pillows, etc, and then you could say something like "Of
course, at first,  you will probably want your baby sleeping in a bassinet
or crib right next to your bed, so you can more easily be available at
night"and "Many moms find that having baby sleep right next to them in bed
gets everyone more sleep, it's easier to feed baby at night with less sleep
disruption and soon mom and baby get into a pattern together", and then I
would mention some tips for safe co-sleeping.  Some of my favorite
co-sleeping tips are: have mom sleep low down in the bed, feet all the way
at the bottom, and baby up high in the bed, near moms head so quilt and
pillows are away from baby's face, and if mom and dad want some cuddle
time, they could purchase a mesh side rail and put baby between mom and
side rail so mom and dad are sleeping next to each other.  I would put in a
plug for the joys and benefits of co-sleeping and mention that having your
baby in your bed doesn't mean he will still be there ten years later.  I
find this is what most new parents have been brainwashed about (by
parents/inlaws?).

Another favorite tip is about bathing.  When you teach about sponge baths
and using the infant tub, you might mention that not all babies like the
infant tub, since only the bottom of the baby is in the water and the rest
gets cold...  I tell moms "Try taking a bath with your baby, you will both
love it!  Fill your tub deep with warm water, get in, have partner hand you
the baby, do your bath, (baby usually *loves* the deep warm water and all
the space and stretches out and swims! or nurses ;) ), then hand baby back
to partner who is now in charge of getting baby dried and dressed (great
bonding time for dad and kid without mom hovering), meanwhile, you add more
hot water to the tub, and read a magazine and relax for twenty minutes, you
are totally unavailable."  New moms love this, it is usually the only
twenty minutes in a week they have had to relax and not be responsible for
baby.

If possible, I would make up some hand-outs, book suggestions, maybe a
short article on infant massage, show a baby sling or brochure (contact me,
LOL),  maybe a list of organizations and support groups for new moms in the
community.
Above all, I would treat breastfeeding as the norm and "assume
breastfeeding" as though of course they wouldn't be doing anything else.
Hope this helps, let us know how it goes,
NancyH

Nancy Holtzman RN BSN
Great Beginnings New Mothers Groups
Boston MA
http://www.great-beginnings.com
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