Mary
Sounds like a great hosp with nurses so supportive and able to assist
with bf. Coming from a background in nursing, I have always believed
that the LC role is equivalent to the clinical nurse specialist or CNS
(like a clinical nurse specialist in pulmonology or whatever). The
nursing staff should be able to assist with all the bf dyads as a
routine part of their work. This is not the case - yet. In the nicu the
nurses should be able to start a mom expressing, storing, transporting
her milk. We did this as staff nurses in the nicu, we were called
ourselves bf counselors, not one of us ibclc at the time. If the no. of
deliveries is small and the LC is on call for problems and can come in
for o.p. consults, than you are right, I think it can be done. Bottom
line - the whole mat/child staff including the docs needs to be bf savvy
and bf friendly and this makes the LCs life much, much easier and able
to work with the more complex dyads. The roles of the CNS are
practitioner, educator, consultant, researcher, and administrator.
Doesn't this sound like us?
Ref Perspectives on developing, marketing, and implementing a new
clinical specialist position. Glenda Beekmann Ball. Clinical Nurse
Specialist, vol 4(1) p. 33.
Laurie Wheeler, RN, MN, IBCLC

Laurie Wheeler, RN, MN, IBCLC
Louisiana Breastfeeding MediaWatch Campaign
Violet Louisiana, USA
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