Dear Lactnetters
Hello.  This is the first time that I am posting a response.  It has been an exciting time for me
reading all the exchanges.  I read with interest, the different approaches to teaching medical
students.  I have been teaching medical students since 1992 and have found it to be a most
challenging and stimulating experience.

The Lactation programme started with 2 hours of lectures  and has since grown to 4 hours.  The
theoretical sessions are meant to be didactic - discussing two main topics- infant problems and
maternal problems and overcoming them.  However I always start with the medical benefits of
breastfeeding and emphasize that Breastmilk is Medicine to the medical students.  The second
thing that I emphasise is that breastfeeding is normal and can be learned and can be a truly
pleasurable experience.  The problems arise because of various reasons - this is where the
students have 2 clinical sessions(2 hours) where they observe how a mother is helped in the
wards.

So far, I see an average of about 162 medical students a year ( about 18 students monthly  for 9
months).  So it has been very rewarding to see a change in their attitudes towards breastfeeding.
 Tom Hale is right in emphasising the positives of breastfeeding - I find that it is important to
stress the positives rather than the negatives, especially in a developed country. In Singapore,
the water is clean , the hygiene standard is rather high and  the infant mortality rate is rather low
- it is harder to convince the medical students that milk formula is not as wonderful as
breastmilk.

I wish all who are teaching medical students, a wonderful time of informing and educating them.

Doris Fok from Singapore