Absolutely agree.  As a lactation consultant who is nearing the end of her career, I am convinced that we need more not less serious credentials for the moms who deserve to have the best of care for their babies and breasts.  We need more scientific inquiry as has been done by Peter Hartmann and others.  I am appalled by a certain formula company that last year sent around a fellow who did lactation research to promote their formula at expensive dinners that MD's and nurses attended.  I am appalled by the dismissal of women who have problems with simplistic answers and pats on the back.  The criteria to pass the IBLCE exam is so minimal for LC's, why have anything LESS?  Respect in our culture is often calibrated to salary.  Until what LC's do is coded so reimbursement can be paid by third party payers which would be tied to highly respected credentials, accurate documentation standards and scientific rationale for our recommendations, nothing will improve.  Dumbing down and creating a "lesser credential" won't fix this problem. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Lactation Information and Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Susan Burger
Sent: Saturday, July 04, 2009 7:56 AM
Subject: Re: Watering down professions

Dear all:

Before you read this -- I am headed on vacation and will not be checking email until July 10th.  So if you wish to email me privately in response to any of my thoughts --- please put it in your outbox as a save draft and click send after July 10th.

********************

if I think about the professional aspects of CBCs -- then I still have a problem because it sounds like another watered down underpaid profession that will be dominated by women. While there are always dedicated individuals that sacrifice themselves to be able to do well in a profession that doesn't really pay enough to make a decent living, there are many others who become dispirited and cannot do a good job.  I do not feel that women should continue to make these types of sacrifices out of the goodness of our hearts.

I'm think particularly of social workers and teachers.  

We all know the social worker that still maintains a high degree of competence in spite of a case load that is over the top and pay that is ridiculously low.  Yet as my husband encounters in his profession as a clinical psychologist -- this leads to other situations in which social services will miss cases when a child really needs protection (the horrible cases that hit the news) and crack down unnecessarily harshly and take children away from their parents.  The structure does not always permit the in-depth thoughtful analysis that is needed and it is not the individual overwhelmed social worker that should be blamed. 

We also know the stories of the lone teacher in a really bad school who, with lousy pay and inadequate support manages to revitalize a class and turn it around.  (And there are some You-Tube parodies of this type of individual school teacher).  Yet how many other teachers started out with high ideals only to be ground down by poor pay, inadequate supplies (most teachers buy their own supplies now) and consistently negative reinforcement from principals, politicians and parents alike?  

At the same time as these professions are devalued to the point that the overriding political response is that they don't deserve more pay, we have other professions who still deserve enormous bonuses even when they have failed spectacularly in ways that impact the global economy.

If many private practice IBCLCs are not making a decent living -- then why are we headed towards creating another profession at an even lower standard of pay?  It just furthers the concept that breastfeeding professionals are merely volunteers (thereby ALSO devaluing the important role of volunteerism illustrated by La Leche League) that deserve a token salary that no one could really survive on alone.  Volunteerism is wonderful.  Having a decent profession is also wonderful.  We need to be paid decently so we can AFFORD to volunteer.  The distinctions between the  two should be made clear as I think La Leche League International does.

Sincerely,  

Susan E. Burger, MHS, PhD, IBCLC

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