Help me make this pregnancy centre more bf friendly!

[granola_mom]

I started volunteering at this crisis pregnancy center a few months ago, and immediately I was shocked at how little support they offer for breastfeeding moms over formula feeding moms. They give away so much free formula but don't even hand out breast pads, or anything related to breastfeeding.

Me and another two more of the new volunteers were sort of shocked by the lack of support and asked about it... they said that sometimes when the women are pregnant they say something about breastfeeding, but that most of the people that come in for formula have already made that decision. That is obvious to me, some people are just going to make that choice and they are there to help get those babies fed, but it seems so sad to me... most of these women are young and poor, and breastmilk is free, always available, and superior to formula!

It's been on my mind for a while, what I could possibly do to reach these women. I have never done any "lactivist" type of thing before, and this organization has specific rules about what they can and cant do. For example it's not really our job as volunteers to give them parenting advice... we're there to help them keep their babies. I started thinking maybe I could at least maybe get them to be more accomodating to it... in their ads they mention formula but nothing about bf for example. Like I kept thinking, maybe if we gave away breastfeeding related things with the layettes we give out (we give out TONS of layettes) then maybe that would encourage these women to stick it out and really give breastfeeding a shot.

i have already donated some bfing related things to the centre (breast pads, lanolin, etc), but they told me that they wouldn't give them out unless someone specifically asks for them, which they said rarely happens I asked them if maybe we could ask if they are breastfeeding and if they say yes then offer those things, and they said I am free to do that but the other volunteers probably wouldn't. So I'm thinking about talking to the admin about changing some things.

Anyone have any good ideas for what I could possibly suggest?

TIA!

[LittlePeanut]

This may be naive of me but I must say I was very saddened when I realized you were in Canada Somehow I was under the impression that we tried harder to promote breastfeeding. It's actually against WHO code to advertise and disperse formula (if I'm not mistaken).

A few things you could do...

Offer to start up a Breastfeeding Buddies group? Sort of a peer-to-peer support group for those intimidated by LLL.

Start a resource library where they could borrow books like those of Jack Newman and William Sears.

Talk to them about what to expect BEFORE they give birth and they encounter problems.

Handing out LLL pamphlets with the layettes would be a good start. Giving them websites with good resources too like kellymom, drjacknewman, lllc etc.

LP

[nevaehsmommy]

Our local center does not give out breast pump or breast pump bottles at all. The lady I talked with went as far as to say they throw away all pumps they get I asked why and she said they could not be sterilized. when I asked about used bottles and cloth diapers her response was it was up to the parent to decide. So then why not be able to decide if you are willing to take on the risk of a used breast pump?

Oh and only basic info on breast feeding from the What to Expect book, and some LLL times and dates

[granola_mom]

Originally Posted by LittlePeanut

This may be naive of me but I must say I was very saddened when I realized you were in Canada Somehow I was under the impression that we tried harder to promote breastfeeding.

I know, I was also shocked! I've NEVER had any issues with breastfeeding here... I have come to think maybe it's just the crowd I hang out with I mean when I was prego and with the midwives, there really wasnt even any question of whether or not I would bf... but then when I did my first doula birth, I saw the support at the hospital wasn't as great as I had hoped. They had LC's and a breastfeeding friendly policy, but they still gave out pacifiers and encouraged supplementing So needless to say I was a little shellshocked when I started volunteering at this place, almost everyone who uses this centre formula feeds, many of them from day one

Anyway, back to the point... yeah, the pregnancy centre has a library where they give away books. They have someone in charge of buying the books, and unfortunately the one they look for at the thrift shops to give away are the WTE series I told them how I despised that book haha... they did ask my which books I liked but when I told them why I didnt like WTE they just kinda rolled their eyes. Maybe I will donate some of my awesome books! But they don't get loaned out, they are given away... people just dont bring them back, so they cant be loaned out unfortunately.

[TattoMomK]

In my area -- Ventura County, CA, (albeit not my specific town ) we have a very strong pro-breastfeeding and natural birthing community, as well as three military bases. Quite a few LC's will offer free help to Navy/AF-Reserve wives or anyone who can't pay, even sliding scale. Just to promote breastfeeding.

My thought -- find some local LC's who might sponsor a free breast feeding class or be on call for these mothers who show interest. I tell you what -- it was a very good breastfeeding class I took with my first baby that made my entire experience really strong and adamant to get through it -- was I determined!!

Find LC's -- maybe through local midwives?

[granola_mom]

Originally Posted by TattoMomK

In my area -- Ventura County, CA, (albeit not my specific town ) we have a very strong pro-breastfeeding and natural birthing community, as well as three military bases. Quite a few LC's will offer free help to Navy/AF-Reserve wives or anyone who can't pay, even sliding scale. Just to promote breastfeeding.

My thought -- find some local LC's who might sponsor a free breast feeding class or be on call for these mothers who show interest. I tell you what -- it was a very good breastfeeding class I took with my first baby that made my entire experience really strong and adamant to get through it -- was I determined!!

Find LC's -- maybe through local midwives?

They don't offer any type of classes. It's a crisis pregnancy centre... mostly we get women in there wanting a free pregnancy test, free maternity or baby clothes, diapers, formula, etc. or to get counselling. The centre exists to help women in crisis pregnancy situations keep their babes, and nothing else. So they definitely wouldn't do anything like a class- they are a completely volunteer organization that exist off of donations, and some of the donors are very touchy about doing certain things...like one donor routinely shows up and asks volunteers if they do birth control counselling.. something we're not supposed to do according to the mandate. One time a volunteer slipped up and they threatened to pull funding.... so yeah, they REALLY try to keep everything they do within certain lines makes it a bit harder.

[granola_mom]

I'm thinking I will put my persuasive writing skills to use and write a letter to the administration, explaining why I feel it's important for them to be more breastfeeding friendly. I'm not exactly sure how they could do this... maybe by putting more info on breastfeeding in the waiting rooms, giving out more breastfeeding related supplies, etc. I need your ideas!

I found this in the WHO code:

"Affirming further that educational systems and other social services should be involved in the protection and promotion of breastfeeding, and in the appropriate use of complementary foods;

Aware that families, communities, women's organisations and other nongovernmental organisations have a special role to play in the protection and promotion of breastfeeding and in ensuring the support needed by pregnant women and mothers of infants and young children, whether breastfeeding or not;"

[bandgeek]

I went to one of those centers when I was pregnant with DS. I didn't *need* the services, except the initial pregnancy test, so they could write a note so I could get medicaid, but I really enjoyed the people there and one girl who volunteered was pregnant with her first and due only a few weeks before me and she was crunchy so we hit it off.

Anyways, they did promote bf'ing. I didn't need convincing, but I can tell you what they did to help and what they could have easily done if they had been so inclined.

1) There were videos you could watch on all aspects of pregnancy and baby care. Bf'ing was a part of all of those videos and there were some just about bf'ing. If you watched a certain number of videos you got points towards shopping in their little store (mostly donated, good condition baby clothes and gear).

2) They had handouts on basic baby care and bf'ing was always mentioned, and had good information. A breakdown of the cost of ff'ing would be a good one.

3) Not giving out formula until AFTER baby is born and mom is already ff'ing. There's absolutely no reason to give it to pregnant moms. I imagine a lot of that formula would go to waste anyways because the baby ended up taking another kind, or it expired before the baby was born (a lot of the formula that was there was like a month from the expiry date).

4) A lot of the donations were things that people had made...sweaters and blankets mostly...maybe ask for homemade nursing pads?

5) See if any of the big companies would be willing to donate samples of lanolin, nursing pads, breastmilk bags, ect.

6) Give out info on WIC. Especially that they will loan or give out pumps to certain moms. I think in a lot of not-so-good WIC offices, if a woman says she is going to ff'd, they don't push it, but if she goes in asking questions, they will give her info on pumps, food packages, ect. I think a lot of women think if you bf you get nothing.

7) Give out info on local bf'ing classes and groups like LLL.

That's all I have for now.

[LittlePeanut]

All great suggestions, except this one which doesn't apply since she's in Canada

Originally Posted by bandgeek

6) Give out info on WIC. Especially that they will loan or give out pumps to certain moms. I think in a lot of not-so-good WIC offices, if a woman says she is going to ff'd, they don't push it, but if she goes in asking questions, they will give her info on pumps, food packages, ect. I think a lot of women think if you bf you get nothing.

What about making up a little pamphlet on your own? It could start out with something like "Feed Your Baby for Free" - Have a sign that states that and to "Ask Us How". The you could include websites, LC contacts, local LLL meeting times and places. You could add a few "What to do if..." or "How to know what to look for" type of comments too.

Why not ask the local LLL chapter if they have any suggestions?

LP

[soso-lynn]

This is so weird. I would think that a pregnancy crisis center would most definitely be trying to help with breastfeeding. If they do not see a problem with giving out formula, they should also give out breastfeeding related stuff. You say they have ads that mention free formula, they should have ads and signs in the center mentioning BF related things too.
I would try to get as many books and other documentations about it and make it available to them.
I would also assume that a pregnancy crisis center would have tip sheets and other stuff on how to raise a child on a low income. I would include BF on that. Here in Quebec, mothers on welfare get extra money if they breastfeed, if it is the case in Ontario, it should be mentioned too.
You could refer pregnant women to your local LLL or other BFing groups (here we have groups every week at the CLSC (local clinics)) that they can go to before the birth. No one should object to women getting extra support during their pregnancy.
Do you also refer them to HCPs? If so, you should have info on local midwives and better hospitals or OBs. (It can be very daunting for a young single mother to choose a midwife, yet alone find one, it is not something that most early pregnancy resources talk about much)
You should always make a point of asking them why they FF, or perhaps, if they are also BFing and if they would like some advice on that. I don't mean it in a judgmental way, just in a matter-of-fact kind of way.
If you can find someone willing to donate them, nursing bras could be a great thing to give out and can encourage women to breastfeed. I have an image in my head of a woman with her milk coming in trying to force her breasts in her regular pre-pregnancy bra like formula companies say they should to stop the milk).
I would also look for doulas-in-training or others that would volunteer their time for low-income mothers. It would not just help with BFing, it would also make their whole experience of birth and post-partum much better.

The main thing, though, since donors seem to have quite an influence on how things are run, would be to find a pro-BF donor, but that can be a lot of work.

[granola_mom]

wow, thanks so much everyone for all the tips!!! i will definitely keep all this in mind. the centre does have info in the waiting room about breastfeeding, but thats it really... i mean they dont offer any sort of practical or material support to nursing moms whereas they do offer formula, etc.

i have been scouting out breastfeeding things on local classifieds and will definitely be making some donations of things like nursing pillows. i'm also donating some of my surplus doula client samples to the centre (lanolin, breast pads, etc). Nursing bras completely slipped my mind! good one. I will definately look out for those, too, and maybe request that we put together a "breastfeeding" package for new moms., maybe with a pamphlet about bfing.

I am also wondering about factory seconds.. on alldoulas.com there is a thread about free samples for clients and one person mentioned how sometimes she gets nursing pillows or bras that have slight defects for free... does anyone know anything about this and how I might get in on that?

[LittlePeanut]

No clue about factory seconds but what a lovely idea. I also thought that perhaps you could post on Kijiji and Craigslist requesting breastfeeding related donations of used (or new) items that would be used to go towards low income mamas. I'm certain that there are many out there who would be willing to donate. Once I'm through with all my nursing gear, I'd be thrilled to ship them out to a place that I knew would be using them for low income mamas.

I also really like the idea of getting them to watch a few videos to "earn" the gear. That way they know what to expect and what obstacles to look for and how to overcome them before they are too much to handle.

If you can get this off the ground, I'm in Halifax and fly to London and Toronto often and would be happy to help out with collecting a bunch of gear in my area that could be donated for the mamas.

LP