Thanks Mary Kay for doing a great job describing the necessity of handson
help in the hospital setting.
 During my time as a hospital LC it was typical for me to see up to 10
consults per shift, all of whom were presenting with difficult problems
requiring a referral from the medical staff. Sometimes they were babies in
the NICU or Moms/babies in the adult ICU with some heinous postpartum issue,
but still *hopes* to breastfeed! IF I didn't use every tool in my aresenal in
the most time efficient manner, I would not have been able to do the job as
it deseves to be done nor would I have had the respect of the medical staff
looking for my *expert* help. As a nurse, *hands on*and *touch* are an
integral part of what I do. Having seen the therapeutic benefits of it from
my earliest days with pedi patients, it would be impossible for me not to use
it. Maybe touching the breast seems natural to me because it follows a
natural progression of touching beginning with that  sigh of relaxation heard
when you first touch the Mom's arm or help her to cradle her baby. Rarely I
have a Mom who will become tense or even recoil with touch and in those
instances I have been forewarned, and change my approach.

Christine from LLL writes;
>>After five years as an LLL Leader (plus the necessary CEUs) one is
qualified to sit for the IBLCE exam.  If a Leader, such as I, lives in an
area where the volume of calls is a little low then she wouldn't have the
same experience as a mother living in an area with many opportunities to
help mothers.<<
At the risk of sounding ignorant here, are you saying that it is the *time*
that one has been a leader, regardless of the number, character , frequency
of *calls*, that determines their eligibility to sit for the exam? Does that
mean that there are former LLL leaders now LCs out there who may have had
little counseling experience, telephone or otherwise prioir to sitting for
the exam BUT had the CEUs and clocked time?
If so, this is of GRAVE concern to me. When I refer to another LC from the
"list" for our area, I will have no idea, unless I know them personally,
whether or not they have the experience necessary to remedy an issue. Never
mind the fact that the skill levels of these LCs reflect on the
respectability of my profession! YIKES!!

Lynn Shea Rn,Bsn,Ibclc
Franklin,Massachusetts

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html