Dear LACTNET colleagues,

     I am usually the type that reads and wishes she had time to respond, but
I am very concerned about Lactation Consulting's acceptance as a profession.
There are two specific areas in which I would like to see improvement:

     First, why are most hospitals insistent that an LC be an RN?
Occupational therapists and speech therapists and physical therapists are not
expected to be RNs.  Why does it appear that the IBCLC credential is not
enough for these institutions?  Perhaps we do not have enough supervised
hours?  Perhaps it is just simply explained by our brief creditialing history,
which only dates back to 1985?

     Second, why is it that my hair stylist has to have a state license, and I
don't?  Obviously, the work that I do is much more intimate in nature.  It
scares me to think that anyone in most of our United States could walk around
with an LC shingle, and there would be no legal recourse until they committed
a serious level of damage.  Metaphorically speaking, it is the similar to our
current breast pump problem.  We have only a handful of terrific pumps out
there, and a lot of junk (which paradoxically, are more highly available to
mothers than the good pumps).  Due to lack of regulation, we still have
mothers getting mostly tacky pumps.  Due to the lack of regulation of our
profession, we still have a lot of moms getting tacky breastfeeding
information also.

     In conclusion, it behooves us to work diligently on promoting our
profession in every state of the U.S.  I would like to hear from LCs who are
interested in state regulation and particularly LCs in Florida (my state) who
are interested in seeing something accomplished in the State of Florida.
Thanks for time on the soap box...

                                           Debbie Albert, Ph.D., IBCLC
Tampa, FL