At 03:37 PM 4/10/97 -0500, you wrote:
>I tend to agree with the Dr Jack approach myself, but it puts me in a
tough position.  I would LOVE to be able to share accurate information with
my classmates and instructors, but it becomes difficult.  So much of what
was taught about breastfeeding is not true, or incredibly slanted.  I'd be
trotting to my instructor nearly every day with references that disagree
with her lecture.

LOL! I do know what you mean.  So far, I have already **warned** my
professors that I am very knowledgeable about lactation, and to be prepared
for flack when it comes to the claims they may make.  I dragged out the
water for breastfed babies references, and gave them all to my Nutrition
teacher.  (Luckily she is very openminded so far, though I doubt she is
thrilled about my contradicting her.)  I also plan to pull as many of my
iron referencs tomorrow as I can for the Lecture on Monday on infant
nutrition.  Sometimes I like to point out that "I know you haven't the time
to read all these boring Journal articles, so I brought you this reference
i thought you might be interested in."  This makes it seem like you are
doing her a favor, instead of pushing an agenda.

>I sat through an hour long comparison of breastfed babies vs normal babies.

OH, no no no.  ;)  Not me, not in a million years.  I am pretty vocal, and
there is *no way* I could let her do this.  Imagine ALL the students who
are getting such terrible info, and believeing it. :(  I get really nervous
when i speak up in class, so I try to talk to her AFTER class, and try to
state my position calmly, offering to get references is good, but if she
were outright wrong- as yours is about FTT, I would ask her for HER
references, and have done so WRT dairy.

 I listened to her say that bottles of NS

I'm not sure what NS is, but any artificial nipples-- even pacifiers can
cause nipple preference.  I just fought a nursery nurse on this two weeks
ago when my best friend had a healthy 9 pound 7 ounce baby and nurse was
telling her she 'must give dextrose water" in order for them to do a
required glucose check. I was **quite** perturbed. ;)  She wasn't too happy
with me either.  I won, especially when she told me that she couldn't give
the water from a syringe or cup.  Baby's sugar was fine of course (she had
even nursed already) at 62.

 in the first 24 hours do NOT contribute to nipple confusion.  I was told
that I MUST NOT contradict hospital policy and teach that breastfed babies
nurse 10-12 times a day.  (hospital policy is feedings q3h).

Are you already working in the hospital?  I missed that part. :(  Is she
your supervisor, or is this a professor?

>Where do you draw the line?  I want to share information, but I also want
to pass my classes and not be a real irritation to my instructor.

Are your class grades based on her opinion of you, or on your test scores?
Because, although I'm sure Dr. Turner and others have felt I am a pain in
the butt, my grades are based on performance, not their personal opinion of
me.   It is possible to contradict and offer references without being
confrontational (though I'm not good at it!)

I even **emailed** some references to my professor rather than talking to
him face to face in my physiology class when he said that women need to be
calm and quiet to breastfeed or they won't have a let-down.  :/

>Part of me just wants to just shut my mouth, and get through the >program.
 The other part of me knows that the misinformation that >nurses give to
moms starts right in that classroom where I am sitting.

This is the key.  I even said that to my professors-- appeal to their sense
of "leadership and importance."  I stressed that they are primarily
responsible for the knowledge of hundreds of future Doctors and nurses.
That the students respect and value their opinions, and often take them as
Gospel.  And then I pointed out that it is difficult to keep up with every
area of knowledge-- and pointed out how i know nothing about the
cardiovascular system, since it doesn't interest me, but that I can offer
them a lot of knowledge about lactation.  most have been at least polite. ;)

I'm rambling on here, but basically, I *do* feel it is my reponsibility to
speak up.  What if the situation was they were recommending old advice to
put babies to sleep on their tummies?  WOuld you not speak up and say,
"hey, they have changed those recommendations now, and babies should be on
their backs or sides!?"

The Lawrence Reference is a good start.  If she'll LOOK at it, then maybe
you can add more.  this is what I have done-- offer one reference (or two)
and see how they respond.


Heidi Murphy
Peer Counselor, Health Science Education
University of Florida, Gainesville