Hi Rosemarie

I am a former peds nurse and NICU nurse now teaching in the school of
nursing at University of Ottawa and sharing my time with the child and
adolescent directorate at our local health department. Primarily working
with new mothers and babes, home visiting, telephone counselling,
counselling at breastfeeding drop-ins and teaching prenatal, early parenting
and breastfeeding classes, I also do some private LC work.

As a result of listening to what women were saying over the years about
inconsistent, and wrong breastfeeding advice and seeing the results of such
advice, I and some colleagues wrote a proposal to Health Canada. We were
funded to develop and pilot a credit course at the university, funding
included sending out the course across Canada to all schools of nursing.  We
also must evaluate the effects of the course over the next three years.

Initially the pre/post test results demonstrated all three groups i.e.
generic students who had had their OBS experience, postpartum nurses and
non-postpartum nurses all significantly increased their attitude and
knowledge about breastfeeding.  The students who had only recently studied
OBS fared the worst in the pre-test, but in the post test did equally well
to the other groups and this was also demonstrated in practice too.  It
showed correct knowledge is more important than having had a child or having
breast fed not surprisingly.

I have been having a difficult time getting volunteers to participate in the
long term comparison group,  it is a little threatening.  However, yesterday
I visited one of our local hospitals and the head nurse coraled ?sp. about
ten ?volunteers.  One or two older highly opinionated nurses knew the
correct responses to some of the questions, but did not agree with it, I
told them I want to know what you think, don't give me the answer you think
I want.  One became really upset about the question related to higher IQ for
breastfed babies she did not care about any research done (she had not read
it). She felt this was a direct put down to bottle feeding mothers (she
incidentally had been bottle fed!)

She says she supports breastfeeding but everyone is putting down the bottle
feeding mothers, her perception.  I found it very interesting because I do
not think nurses give bottle feeding mothers a hard time, but I think it
really demonstrates the belief system and how firmly entrenched it is.  Now
this hospital happens to have had six nurses who have taken my course and
they are in the process of preparing to certify all staff working with
breastfeeding mothers, so I suspect some feel a little threatened.   I think
it is a good illustration though of how desperately we do need to educate
professionals early in their careers in order to change attitudes and
hopefully beliefs before they get too entrenched.

Hope you find this helpful.

Susan Moxley IBCLC
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