dear esther and all,

the most important thing about your post is the part where you said "i know
when to ask for help." that's terrific, and with that attitude and a heavy
dose of lactnet, your learning curve will only go up. but, with your 29 years
of experience, tell us how much of that is with two month olds, six month
olds, one year olds, two year olds, etc.

i am an IBCLC and worked pretty hard to get there; but don't worry, you can
overcome the nursing background and get to be an IBCLC too.

and yes, that IS my way of saying you do *not* need to be a nurse to be IBCLC.
it can be an impediment as well as an asset. i have noticed people admitting
to being completely bewildered by questions on the exam that are what i would
call "counseling" rather "medical" items. i have noticed that a lot of people
seem to be employed in lactation with no experience whatsoever with nursing
babies past the infant stage, including their own children.

 this is what causes difficulties that persist past the first few days. this
is what causes those of us who do not work in hospitals to be so shocked by
what happens in them. this is part of what causes the differences between
those with strictly medical backgrounds and those without.

and this has got to change. most of my clients are unaware of the difference
between my credentials and that of the "lactation nurse" or "lactation
consultant" (not IBCLC) at the hospital or their doctor's office. i don't want
to go to my dentist's office and have someone say "i am the dentist" unless
they have the certificate. i feel quite sure linda's course is superb, and how
i wished i could take it myself. and we do indeed need to educate more people
about lactation. we just need to get institutions to not have these vague
terms that mean different things at different places.

a recent client demanded a big meeting at the hospital where his daughter was
being held (sorry, there is no better way to put this). one of the things he
and his wife discussed with the various people at the meeting was that no
staff LC had ever seen his wife and worked with her. he asked how many of
their "LCs" were IBCLC. only one. and the reason that was continually given as
to why the LC never came to see his wife, was that they were "too busy with
their outpatient clinic." what should this tell them about the services they
offer?

carol brussel IBCLC