I can hardly believe I am contributing to this topic.  I am not an IBCLC
(and no plans to attempt to become one), nor an RN (or whatever the
equivilent is here in the UK) or a midwife or anything else, nor have I had
a baby in hospital special care (and, indeed, only had one baby in hospital,
as it turned out that I am highly allergic to medical childbirth), but this
remark caught my eye:

"Personally, I have far less problem with a hospital requiring an LC who
works in a NICU to also be a nurse than a hospital who allows RN's working
in a NICU to be incompetent in breastfeeding care."

This is all very well from the point of view of the hospital or
professionals, but what abuot parents?  SCBU/NICU is so often such a hostile
and alien/alientating environment, maybe for parents, for the *women* who
ultimately supply the breastmilk (if you view it in that way) it makes a
difference if they have RN LCs or not.  And also for women in other
situations.  Has anyone ever done any work in asking women what they might
value?

Maybe they care, maybe they don't, maybe there is a variety of opinions, but
I would sure be interested in what they have to say and would feel that the
debates had acheived an extra dimension of validity if the views of women
were considered.

Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter, BfN, UK

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