><<  Imagine if all of those people worked together instead of arguing about
>which one is best?   Sorry if this offends anyone, but that is my .02 and
>then some. >>
>
>I think that's pretty much what happens, in reality.

And here, too, we do work together, when things are at their best.

In the UK there are a few IBCLCs, so when I say 'we',  I mean the volunteer
people and midwives and health visitors.

I have resisted coming in on this debate, but I would add that one of the
main purposes of credentials for volunteers as well as paid people is
surely less to do with professional territory, than *protecting mothers*
from bad service/support.

In my own organisation, for example, if anyone is unhappy with the result
of contact between herself and an NCT counsellor, they can call upon NCT
which has a code of conduct, proper insurance, plus support and supervision
and standards of training and post-qualification training. If I am unhappy
with what a fellow counsellor says or does, I have some means of dealing
with it, either on behalf of the organisation (because I am a tutor) or
else I can refer to my own peers and the wider organisation.

Ultimately, this should ensure a better service for mothers.

Heather Welford Neil
NCt bfc, Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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