Megan,

     I would recommend going very very slowly and staying low key for quite a
while at your new job.  I am an RN at a fairly busy L&D unit (150
births/month) and  have been there about two and a half years.  I was very
open about my support of breastfeeding when I originally started as a Red
Cross Volunteer and tried to be available to help but not pushy.  I have taken
an incredible amount of flak.  The most radical thing that I have done is to
wear a pin on my uniform that says Breastfeeding: A Special Gift.  But
NUMEROUS people have felt impelled to tell me that they support breastfeeding
but don't believe in making mothers feel guilty if they choose not to.
(neither do I.)  I also got a lot of "well my baby was bottle fed and she's
just fine." I had to sit through a pointed presentation on an article in JOGN
about breastfeeding  from a fellow staff member that summarized said,
"breastfeeding is not a moral issue and we should remember that it is the
mother's choice."  My impression is that because I actively support mothers
who breastfeed some people think I am going to run up to a Mom who has decided
to bottle feed and say "YOU ARE A BAD MOTHER"
     After I had been here for about six months I started bringing in the
occasional journal article about breastfeeding and posting it (with my head
nurse's permission) .  I donated some references on breastfeeding to the ward
(Mohrbacher and Stock's BAB and Righard's video "Delivery and Self-Attachment"
Slowly, people started asking me questions re breastfeeding.
     I am lucky that there are also some very supportive people on our staff
and my head nurse and her boss have been great.  We have sent several people
to a 40 hour lactation course now and are in the process of updating our
feeding protocols.
     I guess my point is that you need to establish yourself as a part of the
team first and be available to help if people ask.
     Good luck.  I hope you enjoy it and it works into your getting hired
after you graduate.

     Cindy N.