In a message dated 11/12/0 5:06:25 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:

<< though I have heard other LCs that I have worked with
mention this as a concern. My feeling is that if you are a "patient centered"
nurse ie. you always operate from the vantage point of what is best for
Mom/baby, there shouldn't be conflict between the roles at all. >>

Lynn,
This struck me as a very interesting response to the question of whether you
find conflict between IBCLC and RN. I would imagine it is exactly true that
some IBCLC's do and some don't depending on many factors. One thing that
sticks out for though is that as a on non-RN IBCLC, I never think of a
birthing or nursing mother as a "patient", nor have I ever thought of myself
as one under similar circumstances. This may seem picky, but I do not think
it is at all, b/c being a "patient" has many implications that being a
"mother" does not. I believe that it is critical to the demedicalization of
birth, breastfeeding and mothering to change both the terminology and
perceptions by which mothers are viewed. Just as it matters to speak of
hazards of AF, vs benefits of BF, so too does this have far-reaching
implications for the empowerment of women.
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA

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