Someone emailed Kathleen Bruce about how to access journal articles.  For
some of the newer members of Lactnet, this may not be readily apparant.
Some of the articles we will look at will probably come from the Journal of
Human Lactation or Current Issues in Clinical Lactation.  Most LCs try to
subscribe to their professional journals because this is a place to avail
themselves of current info, etc.  ILCA membership will get you the JHL and
you can order  Current Issues thru the publisher, Jones and Bartlett :
[log in to unmask]

Most cities have medical libraries.  Even rural areas usually have a county
medical society that has a small library.  Anyone can go into these and pay
a small fee to use them.  I pay $5.00 to visit the one in Austin. Sometimes
you need to say that a doctor sponsors you to use the facility.  This is not
hard.  Just ask your own doctor or a doctor who supports your efforts.  The
libraries have copiers, and permit copying of articles (a single copy each)
for educational purposes.  I visit the one in Austin periodically, armed
with a list of articles I want to copy.  I get the article titles several
ways.  Each issue of the Journal of Human Lactation and of the quarterly,
Breastfeeding Abstracts (LLLI) contains a page called:  "Other Articles of
Interest"  which lists the full citation of any new articles published on
the subject of bfg. in lots of diff. journals during the past quarter.  When
you go to the library, you will find that each specific journal is archived
in its own section, and some go back 50 yrs.  It's really interesting what
you discover sometimes just browsing.

Some articles can be read in abstract form off the internet and can be
ordered for a fee.  There are medical library search engines such as
Grateful Med whose specific purpose is to help people access references.
These can be order with cred. card and sent to you.  La Leche League
International has a data base of hundreds of articles.  If you send them the
references, they will provide the articles for a fee.

Often local ILCA affiliates or AWHONN chapters will have lending libraries.
I just donated a copy of my book to both these chapters in Austin.  This
allows novices the opportunity to borrow books.  So check to see if your
affiliates have a subscription or books you can borrow.  If not, suggest
they do this.  Those of you who are nurses prob. have access in your
institution to a library.  Many of the nursing and medical journals have an
article on lactation in every issue.  I've read articles about bfg in dental
journal, plastic surgery, ENT, and psychotherapy journals.  The subject is
scattered across many disciplines.  I often ask my dentist and friends in
the counseling field to keep an eye out for me and let me borrow their
journals if such articles come around.

If you live in a city with a university which has a medical, child
development, or nursing school, you can also probably access their
libraries.

The point it, lactation is art AND science.  We have to be aware that
science is dynamic-- always changing as new info becomes available.  Serious
scientists keep studying.  The journal club is a way to participate in
stimulating discussion and to learn some new skills.  Among them is learning
how to find the info.
Hope this helps.


Barbara Wilson-Clay, BSEd, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates, Austin, Texas
http://www.lactnews.com

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