I would like to post two questions. (I feel a soapbox coming, boy I hope I am
not opening a very large can of worms).
In the past few months I have had a very large number of mom's who have been
shopping for free or the lowest price possible for lc services in our area
(suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, USA). JUST like breast pump rentals. Many
have used the 800 number or lists provided by other sourses ??? to search for
this "cheap" advice.
My concern is that I have had 2 cases (and a couple of near misses) during
this time that if i had not gotten strongly involved, both babies would
probably have been hospitlized within 24 - 48 hours. What really sticks out
in my mind is that one mom was told "just hang in there for a few more days
and it'll get better" (I suspect NOT from a certified person).
Lucky for the babies, these moms had listened to their inner voice and felt
something is still not right. These moms had gone through most of their list
(at least 4-5 others) before they called my company. I find it very hard to
believe that I was the only one who insisted on seeing baby to see exactly
what the baby was up to. It could be that everyone who insisted on seeing
the baby was going to charge (not likely many of us came from LLL beginings),
and until the baby got worse mom did not feel it was worth the $$$ or mom
just wanted a quick fix. When she didn't get the answer she wanted she just
called the next number on the list.
I checked up on as many names (i know most personally) as these shopping moms
could remember. What struck me the hardest is the huge gap between levels of
true expertise that was available through these "breastfeeding specialists"
that mom had gotten from the lists. In mom's mind they were ALL equally
qualified, (then i got the I wish i had called you first from mom)
To me Specialist = expert, extra training above and beyond the normal. The
dictionary definition states: Specialist / one who has DEVOTED (my emphasis)
him/herself to a particular branch of study or reasearch / one who is
CERTIFIED (my emphasis) to limit his /her practice to a specified field. The
consumer (and most health care professionals) have no clue that there are no
guidelines for calling one self a specialist or consultant. And no protection
either (does a baby have to die before someone gets the hint?)
Now before I get flamed, please hear me out. I am NOT saying that you have
to be IBCLC certified to be good with and good for the breastfeeding family.
What I am saying is that the public has a right to know there are
differences (level of expierence may = quality of service) and what they
are. Every doctor, nurse and pharmacist and every other professional out
there not only had to complete all their classes and pass all the exams to
call them self Dr. or whatever in most cases they had to pass some sort of
certifcation/qualification process also (with hands on). We also know (or at
least should know) where our level of expertise ends.
My point is, they all had to prove to someone that they made the grade by
learning at least the basics. Whether you are a peer counselor, a LLL
leader, ULCA Lactation Educator or Consultant, BSC counselor or consultant,
IBCLC or any other level (I know there are many others), YOU have all worked
hard to obtain it . You have all put your nose to the grind stone and put in
the time needed finish ALL the work, to serve the breastfeeding family.
Every program that I have looked into has a description of what is involved,
how long it should take and some sort of certificate of completion when the
person is "truely" finished.
We all know there may be a certain number of people who take a short
intensive course and start calling themselves ????? and may (and do) set
themselves up in business even though they may not be really
qualified/experienced to handle what they get into. <<<I am really starting
to get into the show me your qualifications mode>>>. Everytime I go to see a
mom in the hospital I take copies of my registration, certifcations &
current malpractice information to show if needed (a number of times I have
been asked to show it) not being a regular memeber of the hospital staff.
Five years ago when less than 24 hour discharge (USA) was not the norm, this
large difference in qualifications/experience, may have not been a big
problem but IMHO, now if a person working with BF does not have the assesment
skills to realize she is in over her head these babies could be in BIG
trouble.
When companies and other groups started putting together lists (800 and
otherwise) these problems weren't apparent yet because there was not enough
qualified help to go around. Now there are something like 5000 or so IBCLC's
alone.
It is about time the consumer gets to know, what it is that they are getting,
whether they pay for it or not (real truth in advertising). I feel now is
the time for these "experts" to start being required to put it on the table
and prove they are what they say they are BEFORE they are added to any list
(with periodic updates to make sure their information is current and
accurate). Put up or shut up (send proof now or get dropped off of the list.)
We as breastfeeding supporters have the obligation to protect the
breastfeeding family. We can do this by knowing who we refer to, encouraging
comsumers & others (including advertisers) to request proof . We should also
strongly suggest to the ones who didn't finish all the work to do so and why
it is important.
Time to get off my soap box.
My questions are: 1) Are you having the same shopping problems in your area &
what suggestions might you have dealing with these problems? 2) What
suggestions might you have for the keepers of the lists to better
identify/quantify and protect the public.
Sorry for such a long post but as a bit of a lurker it takes me a while to
get fired up and a real long time to slow down. I will be looking forward to
your comments. It may take a few days to catch up on your responces AOL has
been a bit funny lately.
Sincerely,
Anne F. Norton-Krawciw, RPh, IBCLC (the lc-pharmacist ;-))
President / Breastfeeding Specialists Inc / Sterling Heights, Michigan USA
[log in to unmask] / (810) 939-8378 / Fax (810) 939-8913
PS if the pharmacist with pumping problems & going back to work would e-mail
me privately i might have some suggestions. I was able to pump long term and
work with baby #2 (Chrysler Corporation settled out of court because of
simular situation.)
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