>>There have been too many instances in which a mother has thought that
she was counseled by a "Lactation Consultant" when in fact, it was
someone that had not earned that credential.  <<

This is going to come up again in my community. I was contacted by a
woman a few months ago-- she is RN looking for a new career, and wanted
to talk to me about observing my practice. She took a program that
offers CLE. I just heard from another consultant that this woman is
starting to set up a business and has cards advertising "lactation
consultations." She is "just waiting for the certificate to arrive" and
she'll be up and running. The course tells her that she can start doing
consultations, so of course she can.......   We are not confident that
she knows her limitations, and chances are good that the public will not
distinguish her from an IBCLC. It's scary that someone can start up the
equivalent of a practice when all they've done is some initial education
and some assignments. The initial amount of clinical practice they have
is a good start, but not enough to call oneself a consultant-- and isn't
that title being implied when one advertises "breastfeeding
consultations"?

The saddest thing is something I've seen before-- parents who use this
service will assume that they've worked with a consultant and that there
isn't anything higher up, and if they do not receive the help they need,
they won't seek out more because for them it doesn't exist. How I wish
this could be regulated.

Lisa Marasco

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