Just wanted to respond to Karen's observation that she can't find
an OT/PT in her area who will help with breastfeeding infants.  I
am quite embarrassed on behalf of my colleagues.  While it is true
that my feeding training courses focused on bottle feeding and
never mentioned breastfeeding, it quickly became apparent to me
while working in a NICU that I needed to know more about the latter.
It really hit home the day I asked a nurse about a baby who was known
to be having sucking problems and was told that I would not be getting
a referral because mom was planning to breastfeed.  I got the referral
anyways and went straight to the breastfeeding specialist on the unit
and asked how we could work together to get this baby going at the breast.
She taught me a lot, I taught her a little, and OT was suddenly the
Breastfeeding Council's best friend.  Although I will never have enough
practice hours in breastfeeding to get certified, I have taken the
LC training course at Georgetown and feel much more confident about
helping breastfeeding moms and babies.  I hope everyone out there will
really encourage their OT/PT/Speech friends to learn more about
breastfeeding - we can teach each other a lot!

Sue Berres, OTR, PT
Burgau, Germany