Can you help with info to present my course?

blue_monkey_2

tod123 wrote: »

Hopefully the group dynamic will come into play , like in weight watchers, where success is rewarded and failure is met with encouragement

Let's hope that you do not give the encouragement like you did the ones that are still not pregnant after 12 months of trying. Most of the original posts have been deleted but post 4577 tells you a lot of what was said and how many people he offended:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/42802938#Comment_42802938

'I am just helping. Sometimes seeing things in simple black and White terms will give people thepush towards change that they need.'

So, whose first in line for tickets?

And yep, now I am off, there must be something good on the TV soon, Shark Tale has nearly ended!!

madtrekker

Well I have to say that even though I am using washable nappies and breastfed for 13 months so am very "pro" both, I really don't think I'd have attended a 10 week course led by a man to promote them.

Partly because I don't think I could have spared the time (either antenatally when I had a million and one things to do before finishing work / getting ready for the baby arriving and was too knackered to go out much, and definitely not post-natally). Even if there was a financial incentive to attend, 10 weeks is a big commitment and the material you're hoping to cover was covered in about 1 hour total in our antenatal classes. I'm not sure what you'd do for 10 weeks to be honest.

Secondly, I hope this doesn't sound sexist, but I am quite sure I wouldn't have been keen to attend breastfeeding support led by a non-health professional man. I was quite happy to feed in public but the first few weeks was quite shy about it all and while it's one thing feeding in front of a midwife / dr / health visitor who knows how to offer real advice from a professional point of view (male or female), it would be something else to attend a session led by a local councellor who had no professional interest, just social and financial. The big problems when you start breastfeeding aren't just about why it's better for baby and the financial benefits, there are a lot of emotional issues and also physical ones for many people (sore nipples, mastitis, thrush, painful let-down), for which the advice needs to come from a healthcare professional.

tod123

Obviously I will not be taking the place of a Dr! Its more about motivation .

Many new mums give up breastfeeding , and having a support group of other new mums will help, as well as the encouragment and help I will be giving to them.

Please remember this is a big society initiative , its not meant to be a replacement for the NHS. It will take a while for many of you to come around to this new way of thinking, because you are so used to everything coming from traditional means .

I am looking forward to getting this going , its going to be a great challenge, but one that I shall face head on

Errata

Is this Big Society loadsamoney to Parish Councils a nationwide thing then? Should I make sure my PC has applied? Got a link, Tod? I'm a bit all at sea with it and would love to learn more.

tod123

No its a private donation by somebody who is disappointed at the way things have gone and wants to make a difference , although I am sure others will do the same for their localities across the UK

margaretclare

About breast-feeding - I never understood why it is important until I listened to a talk on the different milk for different mammalian species. Human beings are mammals. Mammals give birth to live young and they are equipped to feed those young. The milk of a human mother is meant to feed a human baby. A baby has the instinct to turn his/her head towards the nipple and will very soon recognise his/her mother by the smell of her individual breast-milk. Plus, holding a baby to breast-feed means that the baby can see mother's face at the optimum distance. So, recognition and bonding for both.

What convinced me was looking at the composition of milk from different animals e.g. seals, reindeer - the milk is very high in fat because all animals live very different lives. Cows are animals with huge bones which grow very quickly. The human species grows very slowly.

In addition, the composition of breast milk changes with time, from the first few weeks - it's different a few months later because the baby's needs are different. Breast milk contains antibodies which provide protection in the early weeks against infections/diseases that the mother has some immunity to, until the baby develops its own immunity.

Disposable nappies go into landfill, stay there and do not decompose. So although convenient, they are not all that 'disposable'.

HTH

bigmomma051204

Sorry but i for one would not have attended a breastfeeding support group/postnatal support group run by a non-nhs professional man who has no idea about breastfeeding (apart from what he has gained from a leaflet which i will have been given in a pack or picked up from my local La Leche/NHS/Childrens centre/NCT etc group.... all of those i have listed are trained professionals who can give me advice AND support and i would get peer support there too. Your group will provide ONLY peer support... surely you can see which anyone would choose?
For example, if a breastfeeding mum comes to your support group and asks a question about her severe cracked nipples... what will you be able to DO? Signpost them to an NHS GP? Or maybe their MHS Health Visitor? Or perhaps a local La Leche or NCT breastfeeding counsellor...... see my point yet?? Or perhaps they will be asking for advice about positioning and latching their baby on to the breast - this is HIGHLY important and i doubt you will be able to advise them personally - so what would happen there? Will you ask another parent to "have a look" or "show them how its done"?? Cos every breast is different, and every child is different... and importantly they need to be shown by a PROFESSIONAL who knows what they are doing.... At the end of the day, you will be offering no more than a local mother & baby group, of which there are PLENTY in most areas... your area sounds quite well populated so i can't really believe that this will be some kind of pioneering new idea :cool:

Sorry - sounds a load of rubbish to me.. and as someone who runs 10 week parenting courses amongst other topics, it is MEGA hard to keep people coming back every week - yes, EVEN with incentives each week and new themes each week. Even with a professional running the course and having had a LOT of training to be able to facilitate it.... Sorry :cool:

Depends, though i guess... if it is aimed at middle class mothers then they are the MOST likely to keep coming back. BUT they are the LEAST likely to actually NEED the support as they are usually well aware of services available to them in their locality AND are generally more confident and able to access said services....AND are the people MOST likely to keep breastfeeding past 6weeks, which is generally the recognised "cut-off" (when parents are most likely to have stopped breastfeeding) in the area i live (and yes, i KNOW i am using a sweeping generalisation there but it is in MY personal, albeit quite vast, experience and as we collate information regularly it is actual FACT in my area..)

But to help you - try the NCT website, the La Leche website and this http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/breastfeeding/Pages/breastfeeding.aspx

Also, with regard to the nappy thing - we used to ask our local "rep" from a nappy company to come to our classes... she used to bring a selection of the nappies, would give discount vouchers out etc etc. Just don't force anything on people - do it in a "this is one option - here are the pro's , here are the con's" way..... also, it is nice if you can to ask a mum along who has maybe used the nappies etc to get a personal viewpoint.

Good Luck though - let us know how it goes, won't you

tod123

I do think some women are prone to overcomplicating breast feeding , you have to remember bigmomma, that people have been doing this for millions of years. Its not rocket science.

What my group will do, is give them the motivation to turn away from convenience, and do whats best for the baby. Yes it can be a bit uncomfortable sometimes, but thats life.

One of the ladies on the committee breast fed her twins until they were 6 , so we are not short of experience.

It will be a combination of carrot and stick

Errata

tod123 wrote: »

I do think some women are prone to overcomplicating breast feeding , you have to remember bigmomma, that people have been doing this for millions of years. Its not rocket science.

What my group will do, is give them the motivation to turn away from convenience, and do whats best for the baby. Yes it can be a bit uncomfortable sometimes, but thats life.

One of the ladies on the committee breast fed her twins until they were 6 , so we are not short of experience.

It will be a combination of carrot and stick

What committee is this then? It was a Parish Council at the start of the thread. Make your mind up

tod123

The parish council committee duuuuurrrrr

I have been doing some reading , I think I have most of it sorted now. I need to get some of those cape things with a opening flap in the front from somewhere