Just wanted to jump in the discussion here...as a current dietitian starting
to become an IBCLC the points raised in this discussion are important.  

First, dietetic interns are dietitians in training.  They are are not
registered to practice independently.  They are acquiring 1000-2000 hours of
supervised practice in a variety of settings to put into practice what has
been learned in university classes.  They still do have a lot to learn about
the "real world" of nutrition.  As experienced IBCLCs, consider asking the
intership director for a chance to speak to the intern group - this is a
usual practice in most internships and a great way for interns to gain
experience about other health professions and to learn more about something
they might not have received much training on.

This brings me to my second point, I have attended or worked at 5 different
prestigious state universities in the nutrition area.  I have not seeen any
of these schools give breastfeeding much attention.  This is very surprising
since breastmilk should constitute the sole source of nutrition for infants
for the first 4-6 months of life.  When I was an intern, I was very scared
to do the pediatric rotations because I felt very unprepared to discuss
infant feeding with mothers and other clinicians.  I didn't know what to
assess or what was normal.  Sad but true.  It took some time and education
to become better at the job!  I am grateful that in my new job at
Pennsylvania State University I was invited to give a four lecture series on
breastfeeding to undergraduate nutrition students.  They watched videos of
nursing women, we discussed latching in great detail, they learned about the
relative unimportance of maternal nutrition in milk production, and they
learned about assessment of milk intake and adequacy. 

It will take time for breastfeeding to become an integral part of the
curriculum of dietitians, nurses, physician assistants, and physicians in
training.  Until then, IBCLCs should take every opportunity to patiently
educate other health care providers about the importance of breastfeeding
and how to clinically handle cases of failure to thrive. 

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