Initially I was on Lactnet for several years, took a break of a  couple of 
years, and recently re-joined:  

I am an RN with 35+ years of Maternal-Infant and pediatrics  background. 
After some years solely in peds I set and met a goal to work  in/become 
experienced in all hospital in-patient Maternal-Infant  Health departments. I 
enjoyed working in a wide variety of out-patient  perinatal settings also. 
Locations were Jacksonville FL, Monterey/Carmel CA, San  Diego CA, back to Jax, 
then the DC area. In the mid 1980's I learned  about being an IBCLC during my 
work with the Childbirth Education  Department of a large regional hospital 
system in Northern Virginia. One of  my earliest roles in that job was to 
facilitate expectant and new  parent breastfeeding classes taught by JoAnne 
Scott.
 
My first LC job was at 'Columbia Hospital for Women' in DC, (originally 
opened in 1866 as a  health-care facility for wives and _widows_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widow)  of _Civil War_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War)  soldiers.) Fascinating work with a most  diverse and unique 
population.  For the large Northern  Virginia hospital system, during my 20 
years as an IBCLC, I had  various LC roles in 3 hospitals including bedside 
consults and perinatal  education: staff education - nurse and medical, and 
expectant/new family  education. 
 
My longest stint during that 20 years was in the system's largest  hospital 
which had a birth rate average of 30 babies daily/10,000+ a year. That  
means running full speed most all day seeing moms and babies in various  units. 
Highlights would be designing and initiating an expectant parents'  Baby 
Care Class for this hospital system, chairing a committee that worked to  
integrate lactation services across the system, publishing an article "A  
Breastfeeding Evaluation and Education Tool" (one page tool with  brackets) JHL 
12:47-49, 1996, and moving from  facilitating the hospital systems' New Moms 
Support Group which was held  off campus, to creating and facilitating the 
'Breastfeeding Moms Group' which  was and still is held (last I heard) on one 
of the Family Centered Care  units.
 
A few years ago, near the 20 year mark, even though I  actually enjoy test 
taking, I decided not to spend money to  entry level re-test after such long 
and active duty. I decided to take  a break from LC work to have all 
weekends and holidays off footloose  and fancy free so hubs and I could drive all 
over creation to watch our  youngest compete as a mid and longer distance 
runner for  the U of Tennessee.
 
I would be happy to be re-certified as an IBCLC if I could do so by  
spending money on continuing education credits.
 
Upon return to Lactnet I was relieved to see the appropriately  critical 
comments by new and familiar Lactnetters regarding that  horrid mommy wars 
video. Good to be back!
 
 
 
Debbie Tobin
RN, BSN, 20 yr IBCLC ->  lapsed



Fairfax County, Virginia suburbs outside the Washington DC  beltway

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