Community Outreach: Helping Teen Mothers
Lindsay Daly
Yorktown VA USA
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 39 No. 3, June-July 2003, p. 58.
As a Leader
Applicant, I was asked to attend a breastfeeding talk at a local pregnancy
crisis center. Two Leaders from my Group would be providing information
about breastfeeding to these young mothers. Most of the mothers were
unwed teenagers. This is what I saw as I entered the room.
About 10 pregnant
teens attended, some accompanied by their mothers, some by friends.
Two had their partners with them. Everyone looked a little tense. The
room was very crowded and very small.
My first impression
was one of skepticism. How in the world were we going to help these
mothers-to-be breastfeed when most of them seemed so young? They were
still in school, they couldn’t support themselves, and they looked
terrified.
Nan Vollette
and Waller Thompson, both Leaders with the Peninsula Group, Virginia,
USA, introduced themselves and demonstrated with grace and compassion
the power we all have as Leaders. They got these young women talking,
laughing, and crying despite their differences in age, socioeconomic
status, and life experience. At the beginning of the discussion not
all of the young women planned to nurse, but by the end some were willing
to try. I was amazed! (Editor’s note: as a Leader Applicant at
the time, the author was introduced as an LLL Group member.)
Six months later
it was time for another visit to the pregnancy crisis center. The scene
was very much the same, only my perception had changed. This time I
could truly appreciate the opportunity we had to make a difference in
the lives of the mothers and their babies. I felt privileged to say
the least. Emotions were shared and breastfeeding information was offered
as a way to connect with this new baby. By the end of the meeting these
mothers seemed to be sitting higher in their seats. We saw them gain
confidence in their bodies and their mothering instincts. This meeting
yielded several mothers who wanted to nurse, including one young woman
who had previously had a breast reduction. The center purchased a copy
of DEFINING YOUR OWN SUCCESS: BREASTFEEDING AFTER BREAST REDUCTION SURGERY,
by Diana West, for her. She came to our monthly Series Meetings while
pregnant, and is still nursing her baby who will be one year old this
fall.
Last month I
made my fourth visit to the center. This time, I was leading the discussion
along with Rachel Nowak, Leader from the Peninsula Group, Virginia,
USA. Words cannot express how nervous I felt. I had only been a Leader
for six months and did not have the experience of the Leaders whom I
had accompanied in the past. I wondered if these young women were going
to talk, let alone listen to me. But they did. They shared concerns
about being aroused while nursing, being used as a human pacifier, when
to start solids, losing pregnancy weight, and all the other common concerns
of breastfeeding mothers.
Once we got
them talking they didn’t stop. They asked some really deep questions
and seemed to really absorb our answers. Then the partner of one of
the women spoke up. This couple had slipped into the room about 15 minutes
into the discussion and had been very quiet until this young man asked
to speak.
He had dreadlocks,
big gold chains around his neck, tattoos on his arms, and was wearing
a sleeveless basketball jersey (it was freezing outside!). I had been
a little afraid of him when I first saw him. In a very comforting and
soothing voice he said, "You don’t have to listen to me because
I’m not in your shoes, but you girls should nurse your babies.
My mother nursed me until I was two, and my sister until she was two,
and we’re all tight! Your babies will be so healthy and you will
look back later in life and be glad you breastfed."
After the meeting
ended I spoke with him a little about his experience and told his partner
how lucky she was. With support like his, she could handle anything.
Out of seven mothers that evening, four were going to breastfeed. One
even came to our next Series Meeting and bought a copy of THE WOMANY
ART OF BREASTFEEDING. She is due this month and I can’t wait to
see her at the next meeting with babe-in-arms.
As Leaders,
we answer breastfeeding questions on a regular basis. There are monthly
meetings, helping calls, and let’s not forget questions from friends,
family members, and friends of friends. As mothers, we dream of reaching
out to everyone in our community. If only we could share our enthusiasm
and knowledge for breastfeeding with every pregnant mother, so they,
too, may discover the bond every baby deserves.
Reaching out
twice a year to the young women who go through the center gives us the
chance to make this dream a reality. It was many years after Nan Vollette’s
initial visit to the center before a mother came to an LLL Series Meeting,
but it happened! Several mothers from the center have nursed their babies
and I can’t help but wonder, would they have nursed had we not
reached out to them?
Who could your
Group reach out to?
Lindsay Daly
lives in Yorktown, Virginia, USA with her husband, Jordan, and daughter,
Morgan, 3. She has been involved in LLL since 2000 and was accredited
in July 2002. Lindsay is also the Area Walk Coordinator for Virginia/West
Virginia. Nan Vollette is the Contributing Editor for "Helping
Mothers."
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:32:09 UTC 2007.
