Dear all:

I want to make the point abundantly clear that I think there are many wonderful experienced IBCLCs in the New York Metropolitan area who have practiced far longer than I have.  I think these women set the tone for an inclusive environment that brings other breastfeeding helpers into the fold.

Out of any training program there are those individuals who will distort their qualifications and will attempt to do more than they are qualified to do.  Sometimes, this results in harm to others.  

Sometimes individuals within a training program may distort what the training program provides.  They will attempt to sell their training program as providing far more than it does.  These individuals may not reflect the institutional philosophy and the training institution should have a mechanism for dealing with such individuals.

There is a different issue when an training INSTITUTION attempts to distort what they are providing to the individuals undergoing the training. 

Currently the NYC subway has a series of ads warning about training programs that have been highly deceptive. One of the ads has a woman who was trying to get training in a health related area and found out that the program she paid thousands of dollars for would not really provide her with the qualifications they had promised her and actually never provided her with all the training hours they promised.  The poster gives numbers and websites to check out various training programs and for reporting instances of out and out fraud. Of course there is a distinction between distortion and out and out fraud.

The problem when an training institution starts down the path of distortion is that:
1) Individuals who undergo the training may not be getting the training they expected
2) Individuals who undergo the training may be unaware that they may need further skills and/or experience to practice effectively
3) Individuals who undergo the training may be unaware that they may need to refer to others who have more extensive skills and experience
4) Clients who need the assistance of those with more extensive skills and experience may be deprived of the higher level of care they needed

In NYLCA our Bill of Rights encourages prompt referral to others if you can't see someone within a short period of time or the conditions are beyond your scope of practice.

Then there is a third issue when an individual distorts the information they provide about other training programs and a fourth issue when an institution distorts the information they provide about other training programs.  

The materials about IBCLCs produced by the USLCA and ILCA about IBCLCs or about IBCLCs and other breastfeeding helpers -- either simply describe the qualifications of IBCLCs or straightforward FACTS about aspects of various training programs.  Nowhere in any of these materials do they try to denigrate any of the other volunteers and professionals who help breastfeeding mothers.  

When an individual distorts facts and denigrates other training programs and professional qualifications, it creates an additional problem that some people may believe that the individual speaks for the institution. The reputation of the institution then declines. 

When an institution distorts facts and denigrates other training programs and professional qualifications, it creates an additional problem.  Most of the individuals who have undergone the training program are likely to wish to practice and collaborate with other breastfeeding helpers.  THEY will need to rely on referrals from established professionals and volunteers in their community.  THEY will need to fit into the CULTURE of that setting.  When a few individuals and an institutional attitude denigrate existing systems and distort the fact, this creates resentment.  Not everyone is capable of distinguishing between individuals and institutions.  So those who have undergone the training are also hurt when the resentments formed towards that institution spillover to them.  

Since the bigger problem in the United States is breastfeeding duration, and we need the best skills available and many levels of support.  I can see no benefit in dissuading those who want to join this fight from seeking more in depth supervised training by distorting facts either by individuals or institutions. 

In the meantime, NYLCA will still welcome all breastfeeding helpers in an inclusive manner and expect them to maintain high standards when it comes to portraying their unique and valuable skills accurately and without distortion.

Sincerely, 

Susan E. Burger

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