Nikki Lee Health

As a mother crab and her child were strolling along the beach, the mother crab complained, “Why, child, do you not walk as the other creature—–foreward instead of backward?”

“Why mother dear,” replied the little crab, “do but set the example yourself and I will follow you.”

MORAL: Example is the best teacher.   (from Aesop)

Mothers use what they see the nurses doing as a pattern for the way that they will care for themselves and for their babies.

This is called role modeling and is especially important with any new mother, particularly teens. What we do in front of our patients has a powerful impact.

Were you ever told as a child, “Do as I say, not as I do” by a parent or a grandparent?  My grandmother smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day, and told me often, as she lit up another, never to smoke because it was a filthy habit. How confusing to be presented with a double message.

Our presence is a teaching tool. When we talk to her baby, ask permission to touch her baby, and model responsive and tender care, the new mother will learn just by watching us  how to take care of her new baby.