Jean Cotterman asked me to clarify my previous post about clipping 
tongue-tie in babies.

The high number clipped by me is due to a number of factors.
I have been doing this since 2002, having been taught by a wonderful 
consultant paediatric and neonatal surgeon, one of the colleagues with 
whom I did the RCT.
At that time there were few places treating this in babies. So we 
instituted a weekly clinic and babies from all over the UK come. Also at 
the clinic we teach other health professionals how to clip so that they 
can do it in their places of work.
I did this as part of my work as lactation consultant and infant feeding 
advisor at the large, busy, general hospital at which I worked until my 
retirement in October. It was not done as an IBCLC. As a general nurse 
my hospital covers me for the insurance and the paediatric surgeon is 
responsible for that part of my work even though he is not around when I 
run the clinic.
There are now about 20 non-doctor health professionals doing this in the 
UK, and many more on the list to train with us.

In fact my hospital considers this training to be so important I have 
been asked back to do one session a week as there is no-one else to do 
the training.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence, NICE, an important body 
in the UK, decided a year ago that snipping the frenulum in the way we 
do it was safe and desirable in babies who had feeding difficulties. It 
also stated that it should be done by 'suitably trained health 
professionals'. The word 'doctor' was not mentioned.

Hope this clarifies the situation. Also highlights how the SOP as it was 
written does not reflect different laws and practices for those of us 
who are IBCLCs outside the US.

Regards, and Happy New Year,

Carolyn

-- 
Carolyn Westcott RN IBCLC Southampton UK
mailto:[log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET email list is powered by LISTSERV (R).
There is only one LISTSERV. To learn more, visit:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html