FACULTY
Kittie Frantz, internationally known for her over 45 years of work developing breastfeeding programs, is a full time Clinical Instructor in Pediatrics at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine as well as the Coordinator of Lactation Education for the Los Angeles County, University of Southern California Medical Center. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Extension/School of Nursing featured her as a lecturer for the past Lactation Educator and Lactation Consultant programs. Honored as National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioner's (NAPNAP), Fellow of the Year in 1980 and MOTHERING MAGAZINE's National Treasure in 2007, she is frequently invited to instruct at universities and medical conferences in many countries. She sat on the United States Breastfeeding Committee in Washington, DC and on the State of California's Breastfeeding Promotion Committee. She blends scholarship with personal experience, having breastfed her own three children.
WHY I STARTED THIS COURSE
Many doulas, LC's and nurses accompanied their home care clients to 10th Street Pediatrics practice where I did general pediatrics for 17 years in Santa Monica, California. During the well baby exam some would ask more questions than their client did! Others would comment on how much they learned listening to the answers to the parent's questions. After multiple requests to do a course for these health care providers, I was finally motivated when one challenged me by saying, "Why haven't you done it yet?"
She left me in a whirlwind of thought. I could do it well if I limited it to 10 students at a time. I could easily project a PowerPoint lecture on the wall in a living room. What an opportunity to create not only a wonderfully relaxed teaching environment, but a great atmosphere of networking. In the spirit of a retreat, I would provide a gourmet lunch out on the deck in addition to healthy break munchies. I decided I would focus the content of the course to hands-on skills and leave out the "how to teach a class of parents" information to other lactation courses. I would provide a work book of fleshed-out outlines and full bibliographies to enhance easy note-taking and further study. As a result of these classes, I have learned a great deal from these caring women who do home care!
As you move in life you define who you are. I have come to realize that as a pediatric nurse practitioner, I am always explaining what newborns need and the miracle of how they know what they need. In these times, the parents are in the "information age" and bombarded with trendy new methods and ideas that quite frankly can be dismissive of the baby in the mother/baby dyad. We are now experts at nurturing the mother but need a refresher on The Baby's Perspective.
Kittie Frantz, RN, CPNP-PC
Mother of three children of my own
Foster Mother of 5
Grandmother of 7
Foster Grandmother of at least eight