Susan writes:
>Judy mentions starting a forum for dialogue. I'm wondering if she could
become the first NYLCA Liaison to develop such a forum to build links
between the private
practice, hospital practice, and public health based IBCLCs?<
and Norma responds: Breastfeeding Networks/Coalitions are a good way to
get everyone on the same page. The most successful ones are those which
include as many people as possible from as many related agencies as possible.
Invite childbirth educators, midwives, OB/GYNs, doulas, LLL Leaders,
pediatricians, family doctors, WIC staff and peer counselors, nursing mothers and,
of course, IBCLCs.
Now me...:)
I agree Norma. In NYC there was a Breastfeeding Provider Network, as well
as meetings of various interested professionals that used to happen at the
Dept of Health. I forgot which group had which name, actually. One is
defunct, the other may still be ongoing. We have NYLCA, our local ILCA affiliate,
which has meetings and conferences, BABE ( the Brooklyn Alliance for
Breastfeeding Empowerment) which is multi-disciplinary, and has conferences and
public events, and LLL-sponsored networking meetings between local helpers
of breastfeeding families, also multi-disciplinary. We have lots of
opportunities for educational advancement and networking. The LLL events are
well-attended, but many others are not for some reason. Tamara's issue (well
one of them) seems to be dealing with people who are perceived as "rogue"
practitioners, people who are outside networks, giving information other
professionals then have to clarify or restate in as gentle and individualized
and appropriate a way as possible. Perhaps they may be in the network of
practitioners but simply don't practice the way most of us do. It seems like
there are multiple issues: someone who mentors IBCLC candidates not
respecting or trusting local MDs/RNs to give competent information, someone who is a
practicing IBCLC who may be giving out advice without adequate feedback or
follow-up, and being dogmatic about it, and the issue of how to the next
practitioners in line deal with that, or prevent it from happening. First,
it seems it would be good to identify who an individual is, so they can
speak for themselves. Without talking to the IBCLC directly, we have to make a
lot of assumptions about each other, which can lead us astray, or set up
more secrecy/"soloing against the grain" instead of transparency. This does
not set up a good future with trust. Sometimes I know I just disagree with
another practitioner's approach, but this is different from them being
incompetent. In fact I think NYLCA's Fall conference is at least partly about
some of the issues many IBCLCs do not see eye to eye one, like how to deal
with posterior tongue tie, bodywork,etc and how our approaches might need to
be flexible as we learn from new research, from the mothers and babies we
work with, and from each other. I would think that open educational or
networking forums to discuss these kinds of issues would be a potential
follow-up to direct communication. So to wind down, and get back to where we
started, dialogue I think needs to start with the individuals most directly
involved, and if that solves the issue, great. If not, or to prevent potential
reoccurences, moving into broader discussions/educational sessions could be
organized.
Peace,
Judy
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