Well this really brings home the point that breastfeeding women in the USA
for sure, really need mother to mother support.

Just in my region, it seems that the role of orgs like LLL is declining,
and the role of the hospital-based or Private Practice LC is increasing.
But hosp or PP support is just too truncated, there just isn't enough time
to devote to the dyads. My hours have been cut drastically, and it all
comes back to budget, which is tied to all the issues we have been
discussing re reimbursement, insurance, etc.

Many moms can't afford the fuel to drive to the hospital for f/u and they
really need a local support group. Even WIC breastfeeding support has been
drastically cut via reining in the peer counselors time allotment and
mileage for home visits and less personnel to cover more counties.

I did not come into lactation consulting via LLL. I was a nicu nurse and
that's how I got interested, but I do hope that moms will find the value in
doing volunteer work.

Maybe we need a new (make it easier) pathyway into the IBCLC profession,
and that is to encourage the mother to mother support pathway somehow, so
that some moms (especially moms in their early childbearing years) would
give of themselves to an org such as LLL but knowing that it is an
investment in their own education and future earning potential, so that
they could somehow bridge to LC-dom after a time as a leader, perhaps? I am
 not sure how the pathways have changed exactly and I know that more formal
education is required, but I am just brainstorming here. How could IBLCE
more formally partner with LLL (for example, it could be another mother to
mother support org) to make the pathway seamless. Provide the university
courses via Leader training?Thoughts?

Laurie Wheeler RN MN IBCLC
MISSISSIPPI USA

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