Chris writes: "...the idea that we should start looking at a feeding from
the very
beginning---the communication between mother and baby that determines
whether
they are going to HAVE a feeding---and finish at the end---when we see
whether the baby looks sated and whether the mom's breasts look and feel
OK."

This is *exactly* what I love so much about your MBA, Chris, and prefer it
to others I've looked at. Not so much for myself, in my own assessment, but
because it's such a useful teaching tool for new moms.

I used a modified version of the MBA in teaching Peer Counselors in the WIC
program, and an even more modified version (very, very simple) with mothers.

So often mothers (at *all* positions on the educational/socioeconomic
continuum) have read or heard a lot about "how to", and even "why to", but
have very little guidance as to "when to". They get the by-the-clock
guidelines, or they hear the "on demand/cue" suggestions, but we really need
to pay more attention to teaching them those cues. To us experienced ones,
it seems as obvious as night & day (well, even more obvious than that, since
when there's a new baby in the house that distinction can be really
blurred!), but new parents may never really have thought about it much.

The default assumption is that it's time to feed "when the baby cries", but
as we know, crying should be the *last* cue. And, assuming well-meaning but
inexperienced mothers, they are eager to meet the babies' needs quickly, but
too often they just have never really looked at those subtleties that
indicate that the time is right. And the same goes for the end of a
feeding - moms need to know how to tell that the baby is satisfied. So very
important for helping them learn *parenting* skills, not just "how to BF"!

Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC
Ithaca NY

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