I am also one of those breastfeeding counsellors who is not a member of ILCA 
or IBCLC.  All my energies have gone into my local organizations, originally 
National Childbirth Trust UK where I got my training and the Israel 
Childbirth Education Centre which I helped to found and was president and 
academic co-ordinator for 30 years, modelled on NCT ethics.
If every counsellor, prenatal, breastfeeding, doulas etc who had benefitted 
from their training with the Israel organization had retained membership and 
contributed a small proportion of their time to committee and organizational 
work, we would not be on the point of collapse as we are today.
I agree with Karleen that we have to focus on our local scene as a priority 
because if we do not do this, our own country may be left without advocacy 
on childbearing issues.

As far as conference sponsorship is concerned, it is possible to organize a 
conference with a reasonable participation fee without selling our soul to 
the Code breakers.  The Israel Childbirth Education Centre organized highly 
professional conferences for many years and our exhibition halls were filled 
with promoters of many types of comfort accessories, cushions, oils, books, 
with not one formula company in sight and as far as we know at that time not 
one Code breaker.

Wendy Blumfield
Israel Childbirth Education Centre 

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