Breastfeeding class

[DuelingFanjo]

OK.

Perhaps I am just a negative Nancy so please feel free to tell me I am.

I just got back from the NCT Breastfeeding class, part of the Ante-natal course.

I was really surprised that they didn't cover stuff like tongue-tie, Incorrect latch, cracked nipples, nipple cream, advice from the older generation... all the things you see posted about on here all the time. Instead we watched a video about how babies naturally find the breast and then were split into gender groups where the women discussed day by day changes in the first week and the men looked at breastfeeding myths like 'breastfeeding won't stop you getting pregnant'.

So... I realise that the NCT want to encourage as many women as possible to give breastfeeding a go, and it's something I really want to do, but by being so positive about it all and not addressing some of the difficulties it can involve surely they could be setting some women up for a fall? Plus what's with the teaching men and women different things... can't we all learn together and wouldn't men be able to provide more support for their partners if they learned about the process of breastfeeding along with their partners?

I am thinking of ringing up to book in for the NHS breastfeeding class too, will they cover other stuff or will it confuse things?

OP, I'm a student BFC nearing the end of my training so have taken a few classes. I grapple with this issue, feeling that one reason it is so complex is that individual class attendees bring a very wide array of views and experiences. The other factor is time: most courses have a couple of hours devoted to breastfeeding - at this stage I have covered courses with two hours and courses with four hours and have felt a world of difference in what I've been able to cover. In two hours I have felt that presenting some information and exercises about normal breastfeeding and finding support are all that I can meaningfully cover.

I'd be interested in your thoughts though....if you went to a "how to have sex class", do you think you'd be well set up if it devoted a chunk to STDs, bladder infections, thrush?

Well, I teach sex-ed and we do devote a lot of time to STDs and the like, but we do it for exactly the reason why you might avoid talking about BF complications. Showing teenagers pictures of horribly infected genitalia discourages them from having unprotected sex

Interesting question lizzytee

I wonder if I went to a how to have sex class with my DH would I expect for us to be taught different things in different parts of the classroom? I think I would expect to be told about contraceptive choices for sure.

I do get what you are saying though and I appreciate there's a time restriction. I suppose my main gripe is that for something I am paying for I expected it to cover a lot more in the 2 hours than it did, maybe with a bit less waffle and not so much group activities/tasks.

I was always under the impression that breastfeeding was one of those things which could go quite badly wrong without the right support but the class gave me the impression that if I let the baby find its way then it will all just be fine.

Also - a quick question to the NCT people here... In our first class a few of us women said that we wanted to learn about the choices between being cut or tearing while giving birth. The leader said we would talk about it but maybe when the men were off having a cup of tea. Several of us said 'oh no, we'd like to have the conversation with the men here as they will be our birth partners and will need to know the realities and also need to support us if they have to speak for us' ... I wondered if keeping this kind of conversation to the women only was normal for NCT classes?

Can't answer the cutting question, sorry, Fanjo.

The problems that emerge with breastfeeding are very often when breastfeeding has been interfered with in some way - 'letting the baby find its way' is very counter-cultural and people need to be shown that keeping mothers and babies together allows the baby's own resources to set bf on its way, that free access to the breast is essential, that babies can do some of the 'work' in getting bf going, that our bodies are 'made' to do this wonderful thing, that 'tuning into' your baby is far more valuable than following a set of instructions.

The fact you think of this as 'waffle' when it's actually crucial sort of makes my point :)

The group activities and tasks you felt were over-done enhance and affirm the sort of support and friendship context that's needed when doing something counter-cultural like breastfeeding.

Class members need to bond with each other, and part of this is done with the activities. Moreover, learning about bf is not best done by sitting in a chair listening to facts and lists; it is more experiential. Discussing (as you did) with your group about how bf changes day by day in the first week or so makes the baby real in a way that being talked at will never do.

If you are the sort of person who does want to learn by listening to facts and lists (and some people do) then you can read about breastfeeding. But in a class of your peers, it's a wasted opportunity, IMO, not to use the fact that they have come to be prepared, and they need each other, and need to think, and need to know that breastfeeding goes better the least it is messed with - and our culture does mess with it.

Interesting thread :)

I think it's interesting how different bf classes can be. At mine (also NCT), quite a few years ago now, pretty much the whole thing was devoted to getting the latch right, how to know if the latch was right and, erm, practising with plastic dolls which made me feel like a fool (but in hindsight was actually kind of helpful, I think). No mention of biological nurturing and no particular info about day to day changes at the beginning (I'm not even sure what this means).

Haven't read all the posts, but just to say our NCT breastfeeding session was also rubbish. It concentrated very much on everyone can and should do it but didn't address any of our concerns re how, what to do if baby wouldn't feed/latch, whether to express, dummys etc. Nor did it prepare me for the fact that there are days when DD is constantly feeding and that it can be so unpredictable. No routine and can't see one for a while (Gina Ford now has me in giggles!!)

Everyone in our class was disappointed, but the following week with our regular leader she went through some of these things. Far more useful than the actual BF counsellor!

DD is now 3 weeks old. Seems to be feeding well, and we went along to out sure start children's centre breastfeeding session today. Was great to get some encouragement and to realise that all baby's feed constantly at times and there's nothing wrong with yours.
Info like that was what I expected from my NCT session!

splatt - if you feel your class didn't meet your needs then you have every right to say so, and to your course provider.

OP, I take your point about doing things together, but, put delicately, won't things that are as fundamentally grounded in gender as sex, pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding be experienced differently by men and women. And perhaps working in different groups helps individuals to think about that a bit?

Ah - when I said Waffle I really didn't mean that thes Biological nurturing was waffle, more that we were left to our own devices and the men in particular spent a lot of time waffling about stuff which wasn't anything to do with breastfeeding and the women spent time talking about how cute babies are. Maybe teh class just needed more direction. We over-ran by over half an hour.

horton the day to day changes were things like how we would be feeling emotionally, how the baby's nappies will look different as the days go on... that kind of thing.

Have to say we did talk a bit about expressing and not introducing bottles too early, though most of that was done in the short tea-break we had rather than as part of the 'lesson'

I really feel like I am giving teh impression that I thought it was all crap but really I am not. Lots of it was very good, I was just surprised that most of the other women seemed to know very littel about it all and left with the feeling of 'oh wow, I never realised that breastfeeding was so easy' which makes me wonder how they might feel if stuff doesn't go to plan.

No one actually asked the breastfeeding counsellor how her own breastfeeding had gone - perhaps we should have.

little not littel!

I think it would be useful in a class like this to go over thing that can seem like problems but aren't - baby is fussy in the evenings, cluster feeds, breasts feel softer later in the day aren't "empty", feeds that last an hour, milk not coming in for 3-4 days, babies that won't go 3-4 hours before feeds. These are the things that can really knock your confidence as babies are supposed to take nice big feeds, go to sleep in their moses basket and then wake up 3 hours later

In a short class I wouldn't expect every possible problem to be explored in detail, but maybe where to get help if you do experience pain or difficulty.

MUA i agree. I think a lot of heart ache and bf relationships could be saved by dispelling some of the myths touted by ff generation grandparents.

how's this for an analogy...

It's a bit like learning to drive.

You learn how to do the driving and a bit about avoiding problems, ie, where oil and water go.

You are told what to do in an emergency.

But no one tells you how much the mechanic bills/insurance will be. Or the odds of being in an accident.

Is this because they don't want to put you off? Or because in spite of all that it's still better than getting the bus?