Judy LeVan  Fram wrote:
>I still find it  scandalous that SLTs, OTs, PTs, etc who work with
new mothers and babies, as  well as pediatricians, RNs, and any other
health professional who works with  women of childbearing age, and
young children, are allowed to be ignorant, or  base their suggestions
on their own opinions alone, when it comes  to  infant feeding<

Well, so in addition to nurses of all areas of expertise who deal with women & children are the ones who need to be experts in infant feeding but not the IBCLC? Please realize we deal both with families who have chosen to use artificial methods as well as the ones who chose the normal route of breastfeeding. We work with children who have been fed diluted formula, misfed concentrated formula, failure to thrive formula and breastfed babes. There are those of us, like myself who decided to add on the additional education and training to become proficient in lactation consulting to make up for the limited amount taught to us in our general education after deciding to specialize in the Maternal Child Health arena. This education was on top of the many years of training to obtain my bachelor degree and ICU training. There is no way that all of the above listed professionals could be feeding experts. It is incumbent on each of us to educate ourselves as to the
 alternative feeding methods in use in our general population particularly in how it will effect the breastfeeding relationship: improper/early introduction of artificial nipples, complementary feedings-when & what to introduce, signs of feeding intolerance.  It does *not* mean we have to recommend a particular formula to a family in the role of IBCLC, but you can educate them as to fallacies in marketing-formula is not equivalent...DHA is not a wonder drug...there is no bottle or teat that will prevent colic (whatever that is).  We need the information so that our clients can make a fully educated decision. Sam Doak stated that she only deals with the normal, not the abnormal--IMO, the "normal" breastfeeding dyad  never needs to see a lacation professional--they aren't having any problems. We might see a new family that just needs reassurance that everything is going as it should. The cases that really challenge and reward us are the abnormal. As a
 healthcare professional, one always must be aware of not overstepping your scope of practice. However, it will only add to an IBCLC's level of skill to be educated in all areas of infant/child nutrition.

P>S>I have also noted on this board some individuals going on quite a bit about their beliefs about causes about certain conditions and health regimens that have no basis in research--this is a fault which needs to be corrected in all professions.

Sincerely,
Linda A. Madsen, RN, BS
Aetna Better Health Inpatient Care Coordinator
Wylie, TX



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