Hello, I have to admit I have been Lurking for a few days. Then we have had
some computer problems(possibly lack of user knowledge)  I am a RN IBCLC
(just passed the boards last year).  For those of you  needing a little
inspiration I have a story.
     Five years ago our hospital (1500 delivaries/ year) had no IBCLC, in
fact no breastfeeding support at all.  Our nurses all taught bf from personal
experiance and "old wives tales".  Then our pt educator decided she was tired
of the pt complaints regarding inconsistant information- especially about bf.
 She took a class and became an IBCLC.(not as easy as that , but that is a
whole other story!!)  Of course, we all laughed, teased , called names, and
were generally VERY unsupportive (and sometimes even unkind, what we women do
to each other can be cruel sometimes, a lesson has been learned).  She just
kept at us, she slowly and steadily presented enough solid research based
info that our teaching became consistant.  Over the last few years our nurses
have stopped laughing  and jumped on the band wagon.  We now have 6 IBCLC's
on our maternity floor covering most shifts and all areas(L&D,Nursery,
Postpartum, and Home visits). Also, at least one of our childbirth educators
is IBCLC.         This is all the work of ONE dedicated individual, so keep
plugging away out there, each of us can make a differance given time and
dedication (and a tough skin!!)

Margi Byrne RN,IBCLC