Glad to see some responses to my post about LC's as medical professionals.  Had a few things come in on private e-mail.  As someone who got started in this thru LLL, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this subject.  I appreciate the wide variety of backgrounds that have come together into the field of lactation and would hate to lose that in the wake of much stricter requirements for certification.  My question is, will education and certification on a par with other health professions bring us to the point where the majority of LC's can find good jobs in hospitals, clinics, private practice irregardless of whatever other degrees they may have (most notably RN) or will most of us continue to practice for very little monetary compensation no matter what a standard LC education ends up being, unless we have that extra degree (again, most notably, an RN or its equivalent)?  Perhaps I am not networking with the right people, but most LC's I know and have met at conferences and the like, make nowhere near what I would consider to be a living wage just being an LC, unless they are also employed at the same time as an RN or other presently recognized health professional.  I work at least 50 hours a week at a job that has nothing to do with breastfeeding, except that it is in the medical field and has come in very handy in a general knowledge kind of way.  Is it reasonable to expect that someone will spend the time and money to pursue a college degree in lactation if there is unlikely to be a decent job waiting at the end of it all?  Where are we really headed with all of this?  Or am I just being impatient and unwilling to wait for this profession to develop to that stage?  I will admit that I (and my husband) were unwilling to give up my good wages at my regular job in order to pursue a full-time lactation career, but mainly because even people that I thought of as very successful in this field were actually making very little net profit.

The truth is, most breastfeeding problems are not rooted in complex medical diagnosis, but rather in the basics of good latch and frequent feeds.  When I first got into this, I stepped away from LLL for a while because the organization did not seem to be supporting the developement and dissemination of new, more medically sound and complex information about breastfeeding.  I would learn exciting new things at an ILCA conference and then be discouraged from sharing much of it with fellow Leaders at our own conferences or through newsletters.  However, LLL seemed to have reached a watershed at some point and is once again trying to stay on the cutting edge of new research and information and is requiring a broader knowledge base for its new Leaders.  Their BFAB is one of the best references in the field.  Many LLLL and other volunteers are often as knowledgable and skilled, or even more so, than some of the IBCLCs in the community.  Of course, there is no reason why this should not be, but then I have to wonder, what is a woman paying an LC for?  If we are not health professionals, then what are we and by what means should mothers and HCPs evaluate our skills and decide what to pay us?  Should IBCLC remain basically what it is right now and not push for more rigorous standards or a college-based model?  Should it become a certification only for those heatlh professionals treating dyads with complex anatomical or medically based problems and require a rigorous education standard?  Should it be a nursing specialization which requires courses such as counseling skills and anthropology as well as lactation?  How much money should an LC expect to be able to make?  Are we still really a bunch of volunteer counselors who use our IBCLC status as a way to justify taking in enough money to at least cover our yearly expenses (such as books, conferences, memberships) and a little more if we're lucky?

Am not putting this very well.  Am very tired after a busy night at work and need to get to bed.  Looking forward to your responses.  I do feel that this is an important dialogue to be having and I have gotten pretty thick-skinned, so will probably not take offense at any trains of thought that emerge.  But please be as gentle as possible - I enjoy our discussions when they are vigorous yet respectful.

Sharon


Warmly,
Sharon Knorr, BSMT, ASCP, IBCLC
Newark, NY (near Rochester on Lake Ontario)
mailto:[log in to unmask]

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