>She called the LLL and waited 2 weeks to get a call back...by which time
she'd weaned her daughter.

>>The (NCT) bf line is one single number,
which cascades through a system until the call is answered, with a
duty counsellor at the end of the cascade to make sure as far as
possible every call gets answered. Those who don't get answered
(because even the duty counsellor can't answer because she is busy
with another call) are invited to leave a message on a tape which is
then picked up. The bf line and its technology allows us to have data on
timing of call, what geographical area  it came from, length of call, and so
on which helps us work out the sucess and working of the line.....
... We already have the recorded voice saying 'all our counsellors are
volunteers working from their own homes' which is a revelation to a
lot of people : ) I think it will also help  to have our recorded voice
inviting unsatisfied/unanswered callers to try again. Does the LLL system
ask callers to do this?


Women who call LLL do so either by calling the 1-800 number, or a local
Leader.

Those that call the 1-800 number get their questions answered and are also
referred to a local Leader. If they call after office hours they get a
*standby* Leader, one who volunteers from her own home. I am amazed and
grateful that so many Leaders volunteer their time to be on *standby,*
especially during the night.

When a mother calls her local Leader directly, she may or may not find her
at home. Unless the Leader has left a message on her answering machine (if
she has one!), there is no way of knowing when she will get back. Most local
LLL Groups put more than one contact number on their fliers, etc., but
sometimes it is all that a mother can do to make ONE call.

I wish I knew the answer to this. Local LLL Groups really do work on nickels
and dimes. Funding is very hard to come by, even for such a worthy cause.
Some larger metropolitan areas are able to find funding for a hotline that
includes a number of Groups, and some are able to get included in
general-purpose community hotlines which then direct callers to specific
agencies.

With the growing trend to wider internet access, many mothers are emailing
their breastfeeding questions to LLLI. Others are attending LLL meetings
online and asking their questions there!

Modern technology is wonderful, but the bottom line is that we simply do not
have enough people or money to do ALL the work. As others have pointed out,
most LLL Leaders are mothering young families, and many have other
responsibilities that also have to come first. The wonder is that we are
able to help so many mothers with so few resources.

It distresses me greatly to see this infighting between LLL Leaders and LCs.
Both have so much to offer. LCs tend to offer help for specific situations,
some of which are outside the realm of the average Leader's level of
expertise, while Leaders tend to offer ongoing encouragement, education and
peer-support. There is, however, much more overlap than may be imagined.
Some LCs gather small groups of their clients together on an occaisional
informal basis, and some  form hospital support groups. Some, more
experienced, Leaders are also LCs who may or may not be working for a
paycheck in that capacity.

And don't let us forget the old joke about what you call the medical student
who was last in his class: Doctor!
So what do you call the LC who just scraped thru the IBCLC exam, or the
bran-new Leader who has yet to get her first phone call?

The more we practice, the more experience we have, the more we learn from
each other as well as from more formal study, the better we will all be able
to help mothers nurse their babies.

Isn't that what it is all about?

Norma Ritter
IBCLC in private practice since 1995
La Leche League Leader since 1976




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