Hi all,
I'm a little nervous about posting this, please be gentle with me!
I am a LLLL in a little military town in the South (US).  An RN at our
military hospital has been teaching the breastfeeding classes and was
considered the "lactation person" in the hospital.  She took the IBCLC
exam and just told me today that she passed.  The problem: about two
weeks ago, a new mom called me for help.  It turned out to be a minor
positioning problem and just general new baby settling in.  But, this
nurse (she wasn't IBCLC yet) told the mom that the baby should ONLY be
nursing every 3 hours or so and if it was more often there was probably
a problem.  I didn't tell the mom that the nurse was wrong just that
every baby is different, some need to nurse more often than that and for
the mom to trust her instincts about what the baby needs. I am SO glad
to have an IBCLC close, the next nearest is 40 miles away and we only
just learned of her. Why would someone who has recently taken the IBCLC
exam tell a mother this?  Should I mention it to her?  If so, how?  We
already have an abysmal breastfeeding rate in this county and military
moms seem even more prone to giving up at the first difficulty.  These
moms are usually isolated and far from family.  Our LLL group is only
1.5 years old here and we are just now getting support and referrals
from local hospitals and the military hospital.  I am trying hard to get
Peer Counseling programs started too.  I need this woman but not if
she's giving erroneous advice.  Help!  (She's not on Lactnet; I just
told her about it today on her way out of town)
Thanks so much.

Dee Thompson, BSBA, LLLL