David Stark of BabyBabyOhBaby is a fervent supporter of new mothers. A firm believer that attached mothers and babies promote healthy families, he has developed a series of videos on breastfeeding and infant massage, with one on birth on the way.

With BirthSwell’s support, he recently rolled out a new Facebook page, with the goal of reaching birth and breastfeeding professionals with evidence-based information that can be shared with new and expectant parents. As a part of his content strategy, he launched a series of images promoting high-quality breastfeeding support. As a new page with a small amount of followers, we suggested he consider turning these images into ads:

His goal? Promote quality support in the form of La Leche League or Board Certified Lacation Consultants and build awareness of his company, particularly among breastfeeding professionals. Because his goal was to reach professionals, we targeted the ad to people 22 and older.

Facebook’s response? The ad was rejected, saying it was “advertising adult products or services, including toys, videos, or sexual enhancement products.”

We reached out to Facebook, feeling confident that the ad had been caught by some sort of robot. David had been careful to ensure that the image was within Facebook’s guidelines.

Facebook’s policy on breastfeeding images:

Here’s the response we received from Ralph, a Facebook representative. “Please change the image of your ad or promoted post. I understand it is an image of breast feed [sic] but images like these that appear on users’ newsfeed receive negative feedback. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Facebook’s response:

As we often talk about in our trainings on Facebook and social media, new and expectant mothers are power users of social media. A full 67 percent of women aged 19 – 29 use Facebook, according to the Pew Research Center. Time online often increases after birth – 44% of US women spend more time online after a new baby is born—and the likelihood that a new mother will seek breastfeeding information and support online is high.

Although BabyBabyOhBaby’s image was allowed to remain online, paid promotions of the ad were not allowed. This is particularly significant given that, without advertising, many posts are only seen by five to ten percent (or less!) of a page’s followers. Companies, nonprofits, and organizations using Facebook to promote healthy messages about breastfeeding simply cannot rely exclusively on organic sharing if they hope to reach the broadest possible audience.

Sadly, we’ve seen similar limitations from other organizations, including an ad designed to reach teen mothers that, in order to be approved, was required to be targetted to 18-and-up audiences only.

Right now, we are reaching out to Facebook in an attempt to get this decision reversed. We’ll keep you up-to-date on what happens next!

We hope that Facebook will reverse its decision and allow this ad, not just for BabyBabyOhBaby, but for all breastfeeding organizations. Facebook, your advertisers don’t think promoting breastfeeding is the same as selling sexual enhancement products!

Update as of 5/3: We have requested that a supervisor review the ad, in hopes that Facebook will reverse their decision. BabyBabyOhBaby has also submitted a second ad (you can see it here) which was also rejected for the same reason. We’ll let you know what happens next.

Conflict and dissent is nothing new to the birth and breastfeeding communities. We often hear the phrase “don’t feed the troll” – but who really is a troll? How does your own tolerance of conflict impact how you manage dissent or disagreement online?

These are just some of the topics we touched on at Friday’s #BirthGenius chat. Our convo was guest facilitated by Jodine Chase, an expert in online crisis management.

In case you missed it, here’s a transcript of the chat. And here’s some great guidelines that Jodine put together on how to prepare for and manage difficult conversations online.

Huge thanks to everyone who participated and helped spread the word.

Want to participate in future #BirthGenius chats? Be sure to sign up for updates and we’ll let you know the date and the topic.

Editor’s note: In preparation for this month’s #BirthGenius chat, we asked Jodine Chase if she would guest blog about how online communities can start to think about how to manage conflict and dissent online. We’re thrilled she contributed this piece, which also ran today on her blog, Jodine’s World. Want to keep the convo going? Join us for our chat on Friday at 1:30 eastern.

Our social media communities are no strangers to dissent and conflict. A cozy virtual living room discussion with trusted friends sharing birthing and breastfeeding stories can turn to red hot anger or ice-cold silence in the click of a keystroke.

And what if it’s not your virtual living room, but rather your virtual waiting room? What if your professional reputation, your livelihood is at stake?

What do you do when things go off the rails? How can you keep your online community a civil and respectful place while still encouraging the dissent that makes it vibrant and valuable? How can you respect all members and provide a safe and supportive environment?

All of us have spent years honing our ability to mediate conflict and dissent in real life – we do it without thinking. We don’t really think about “rules” when it comes to face-to-face communication, but that’s because we have spent a lifetime learning the rules of civil discourse. Look people in the eye whey you’re talking to them. Listen more than you talk. Be as polite as you would to a stranger. Remember the Golden Rule, treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.

So when we participate in social networks we are in fact bringing a lifetime of adherence to the rules of civil discourse to those virtual spaces.

So why does it break down so often?

Well, remember, it breaks down in real life too. Who hasn’t lost their mind after waiting in a long supermarket lineup only to get to the front of the line and have the clerk put down the “closed.” sign? We can all think of times when civil discourse degenerated into chaos. Tears. Slammed doors. Storming out of rooms. Like the Thanksgiving dinner when Uncle Ted had too much to drink and told his new daughter-in-law what he really thinks about her mother.

We know the rules, and we know when we are breaking them, whether it’s online, or face-to-face. The next day Aunt Jill takes Uncle Ted aside and says “you now you had too much to drink and when you drink you’re an ass. Now you will go make this right.” And at the next family dinner the hard liquor is put away and Uncle Ted keeps himself to one glass of wine.

In the online world there must be a whole new level of discourse and care in communication. Online there are no visual cues. You can’t see Aunt Jill off in the corner turning three new and vibrant shades of red. Uncle Ted, even in his pickled state can sometimes see his new daughter-in-law’s crushed expression and figure he’s gone too far.

And in the family sitting room the offended party can’t just push a button and make the whole scene go away as in an online chat room. In the face-to-face world there is no off button. Oh, you can run out of a room ‘cause your boozy uncle is a cad, but you have to find your keys, your car, your way home. There is time. Time for Aunt Jill to soothe hurt feelings, time for daughter-in-laws hubby to make a gallant stand, time to explain what was said and even mitigate it a bit, since in the world of face-to-face, there is no written record.

But that’s what the Internet is all about. There is a written record, and it’s darn near immutable. Harsh, black and white. There are no tones, no whispers… no shouts save all caps and the overused exclamation point!

Yet the key to managing conflict and dissent online is to apply the lessons of face-to-face communication – follow the rules. But surprisingly, many communities don’t even have rules. Or there are pages of rules that nobody reads.

Over on the Daily Kos in 2011 member Wee Mama used this image in her outline of rules for civil online behaviour in a lovely essay, Civility, Citizens and Siglines. It’s based on Graham’s Hierarchy of Disagreement as outlined in Paul Graham’s essay How to Disagree.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Recently I joined a forum and was presented with this argument pyramid and told, “keep it in the top two or three and you’re good to go.”

NationBuilder, a software firm that helps build communities, offers a strong suite of tools for forum moderators, and advises:

Rules: The simplest and surprisingly most effective way to keep a nation civil is by having a set of rules and enforcing them.

NationBuilder’s suggested rules are very simple, things like: “1 account per person”, “be civil, no personal attacks,” “respect everyone’s time, no spam.”

Moderating is of course more complex than a well-crafted set of rules. How you enforce them is key to your success. Some people may call out rule-breakers in public forum as a way of showing rule-breakers won’t be tolerated. Others prefer a behind-the scenes approach. I’ve seen good success simply by having key community members model the tone you want others to adopt.

Some never ban, while others run a very strict site. Some communities have no censorship rules, others have off-limit subjects. NationBuilder doesn’t recommend banning unruly members as a way to resolve conflict, noting it’s difficult to keep persistent people from coming back with a fake ID. But Michael Brito, social business VP for Edelman Digital, who was in my home town of Edmonton recently, was asked about the challenges of moderating online communities. Brito’s response was tailored to corporations and brands, and he said it succinctly- you need a rule of thumb for the good, the bad and the ugly:

Amplify the positive, allow and refute the negative, and ban the ugly.

His examples of what constitutes ‘ugly’ was hate speech. Bullying. Things that are illegal. You decide your threshold.

How do you manage your online communities? Have you changed your approach over the years? Do different communities require different styles of moderation?

On Friday, April 26, 2013 at 1:30 pm eastern I’ll be the Guest Moderator of a #BirthGenius Chat Managing Conflict and Dissent Online. I’d love for you to join me and the Birth Genius hosts along with other birth and breastfeeding professionals for a chat about how you cope with trolls and whether or not you declare subjects off-topic. Tell us how you keep the peace and encourage healthy and vibrant communication in your virtual communities. Do you have rules?

About Jodine Chase:  Jodine  is a longtime breastfeeding advocate and owner of MediaWorksWest, a strategic communications firm specializing in news analysis for issues and crisis management. She is an expert in both creating change using social media as well as managing conflict when it comes to your page or community.

As you may know, we rescheduled this chat out of respect for the tragedy in Boston. We have set the new date and time for this Friday. Please join us!

You’re invited to the monthly BirthGenius Twitter chat!

Friday April 26th, at 1:30 pm ET (NEW date and time)

This month’s topic:

Conflict and dissent are a part of all social media communities – and the birth and breastfeeding world are no exception. How do we support diverse viewpoints and healthy discussions while maintaining a safe and supportive space for our community members?

Guest facilitator!

We’ll be joined by Jodine Chase, a longtime breastfeeding advocate and owner of MediaWorksWest, a strategic communications firm specializing in news analysis for issues and crisis management. She is an expert in both creating change using social media as well as managing conflict when it comes to your page or community. She’ll facilitate and share her conflict know-how!

Let’s discuss and share:

What’s the difference between a troll and someone who disagrees with your philosophy?

Is conflict ever useful or even desirable for your community?

When should you block, ban or delete? How do you decide?

What strategies can you put in place to keep the peace when unexpected disagreements break out?

Are there topics that are off-limits for your community? Why?

How to tell the difference between healthy dissent and destructive conflict.

Connect with Birth and Breastfeeding Professionals on Twitter!

Date: Friday, April 26th

Time: 1:30 pm Eastern (new day, new time!)

Details:

Join the chat using the #BirthGenius Hashtag – Learn More Here

Tips:

Use Tweetchat.com for a better chat experience.

Please invite your friends on Facebook and tweet the details on Twitter. Thanks!

Whoo hoo! We’re so excited to share with you all that we’re guest blogging today at Moms Rising – along with Amber McCann – on how to help ensure mothers have fair and accurate information on social media about infant feeding.

We are thrilled that the Moms Rising audience will learn about how the world’s largest food company – Nestle – is pouring enormous resources into marketing formula online. This despite a set of rules adopted by the World Health Organization that specifically outlines how formula should be marketed (commonly called the WHO Code).

We hope this article will help build support and awareness for the WHO Code. We also hope it will help dispel a common misunderstanding about these efforts. The WHO Code does not limit access to formula or any other feeding option. The WHO Code governs the marketing of formula, with the goal of ensuring that women have access to high-quality information about infant feeding. At BirthSwell, we think this is especially important because we believe and trust that when women have access to evidence-based information and support, they will make the choices that are best for their families.

Read the Moms Rising post here. We hope you’ll share it widely!

To join in the efforts to support the WHO Code, please join the Facebook group here.

This post came out of a recent presentation by myself (Jeanette) and Amber at the Breastfeeding and Feminism conference. We originally wrote up our talk as a part of the conference proceedings, and were thrilled that Science and Sensibility (Lamaze’s blog for birth professionals) ran that post (read it here). The piece you’ll read over at Moms Rising is a revised version, taking into account the somewhat different audience (activist moms).

Please go stop by Moms Rising, read the post, and consider sharing and/or leaving a comment. And thanks for your support of the WHO Code!

I just got back from the Breastfeeding and Feminism Symposium, sponsored by the University of North Carolina, Greensboro’s Center for Women’s Health and Wellness and University of North Carolina’s Global Breastfeeding Institute. While I was there, I had the opportunity to present – along with Amber McCann – on how advocates can use social media to support the WHO code.  (Huge shout out to Sheryl Abrahams, whose research on social media use by formula companies informed our talk and to Norma Escobar, a WHO code advocate who recently wrote a must-read two part series at Lactation Matters on the relevance of the WHO code today.)

Research That Can Inform Your Work

I also learned about the incredible range of research that can and should be informing our work as on-the-ground advocates, communicators, and creators of education and programs for breastfeeding families. This conference should be on *must attend* list for anyone who wants to ensure the work they are doing is guided by the work of the anthropologists, public health experts, and other social scientists who are working to deepen our understanding of breastfeeding. Watch our birth and breastfeeding conference list for next year’s date.

Catch Up On The Twitter Stream And More

In the upcoming months, we’ll be talking with some of those researchers here at BirthSwell, with the goal of inspiring and informing your work. In the meantime, here’s the transcript from the Twitter stream. A huge thanks to the tweeps at the conference – including @iamambermccann, @anthrodoula, @NormaEscobar66 and @ghadago4it. And watch here for more information on how to learn more about our presentation on social media.

New! Follow The Conference On Facebook

Since this post was originally published, there’s a new Facebook page for the conference. Go click like and keep up with their work year-round.

As part of our commitment to foster collaboration and help grow connections between various maternal health stakeholders we have been keeping track of maternal health, birth and breastfeeding conferences for the past two years.

We’ve heard from you that this was a valuable resource and are dedicated to continue to curate this information. This year we are excited to announce a new partnership with Science and Sensibility which will allow us to expand the calendar and reach more maternal health professionals, researchers and advocates.

Help us crowdsource!

We need your help! Know of a conference that needs to be on this calendar? Let us know by filling out this form here. We will be sure to update the calendar to include your submission. We need you to make sure all applicable conferences and events are represented.

You can access the calendar by clicking on the calendar image on our sidebar or over at Science and Sensibility.

Thanks to each and every IBCLC – and IBCLC to be – for all that you do to spread affirming, evidence-based information to mothers and their families.

Here’s three great ways that IBCLCs are using their marketing savvy *and* honoring IBCLCs:

Free Kindle download of the new mystery, Thea Gallas Always Gets Her Man.

This new mystery is about a crime solving IBCLC – need we say more? Download available for free all day 3/6/13 on Amazon, for all lovers of IBCLC-mystery-solvers.

Free week-long access to the Boob Group. Offer your clients one free week’s worth of access to all of the resources of the Boob Group. Sign up here for materials to hand out at your visits, office, or storefront. Open to all breastfeeding supporters.

The GOLD Lactation Online conference has assembled a video collage of IBCLCs from around the world. Check it out here!

And because our theme this year is collaboration . . . a huge shoutout as well to all of the LLL leaders, CLCs, and peer counselors. Together, we can ensure that mothers will receive the support they need to reach their breastfeeding goals.

What did we miss? Please share with us your IBCLC day celebrations!

Many lactation consultants in private practice describe the LCinPP conference as their favorite of the year, and with good reason. (Beyond the cupcakes!) The conference was an amazing source of rock-solid evidence-based information, tips for optimal practice, and business-building savvy.

Twitter Roundup

For those of you who weren’t there, or were there and would love to read the Twitter stream, a huge shout out to Fleur Bickford for assembling the transcripts of the tweets:

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

You can see transcripts from other conferences in Fleur’s library.

And many thanks to the Tweeps who helped to share information about the conference! Want to connect with the LCinPP folks at the conference? Amber McCann assembled a great list of LCinPP Tweeps to follow here.

Online marketing offerings

Feeling inspired after the conference to step up your online marketing? Here’s a recap of some of the resources we learned about at the conference:

Here’s our post with highlights from Robin’s talk about blogging.

Don’t forget to check out JonaRose’s webdesign offerings.

Feeling inspired to tweet? Watch for the recording of Amber’s webinar on Twitter for breastfeeding professionals for USLCA, which we hope will be available ASAP.

And here’s a list of BirthSwell’s training, coaching, and marketing offerings.

What was your favorite business building tip at LCinPP?

Here’s three opportunities to use your social media networks to pay it forward!

Help these amazing researchers get the data they need to tell us all more about birth and breastfeeding. Please share each of these with your birth and breastfeeding communities.

How does evidence-based information about pregnancy and birth get shared online?

We are *so* excited about this one!

Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN, APRN, of the rock-solid blog Evidence-Based Birth has launched a new research project designed to help us learn more about people find evidence-based information about birth, and how they share evidence-based information about birth.  The quick survey takes about 10 minutes to complete.

Learn more and share Rebecca’s post here.

She’s hoping for 3,000 participants, so please share this far and wide. Questions? You can reach her at her blog or tweet her here.

Learning about the physiologic barriers to breastfeeding.

We know remarkably little about women who are physically incapable of producing sufficient milk, even after other breastfeeding challenges have been solved. That’s why Diana Cassar-Uhl, IBCLC of the normal, like breathing blog, along with her co-investigator Penny Liberatos, Ph.D, has launched this important research project. She is looking for mothers who know or suspect they have low milk production due to mammary hypoplasia/insufficient glandular tissue (IGT).

Please share this study widely, but particularly with moms you know have experienced this challenge.

Learn more and share Diana’s post here.

Questions for Diana? You can reach her via e-mail at  IGTstudy2013@gmail.com.

Help women learn about their birth options.

BirthSwell has been helping the researchers at Maternal Quality of Care Indicator (MQI) Working Group gather data for an important project designed to help expectant women learn about their birth options. A key goal of the effort is to involve stakeholders – pregnant mothers-to-be – in every stage of the work.

The goal of this phase is to better understand what matters most to women about their care during pregnancy and birth, who they trust when seeking information and making decisions, and where they go to gather that information.

They are particularly seeking to reach two groups that often are underrepresented in birth research: women of color and teens.

Here’s the link to share the research.

Questions about this project? Contact MQI here.

All of these studies have IRB approval, which means you can feel confident that the participants and the information gathered will be ethically treated.