> How comfortable would
> you be to question this intervention or even know the appropriate questions
> to ask? An experienced LC could certainly cite the research and might know
> just as much about that in theory as the RN but applying that knowledge to
> this specific instance w/o the medical background might be difficult or even
> impossible.

I've no medical nor nursing education whatsoever as have lots of LCs, but I feel
perfectly capable and comfortable of doing my job in whatever setting, as my job
has to do with getting mom and babe together and breastfeeding. All the NICU
parafernalia can be moved, rearranged and if I'm not sure how I can ask the
nurse that will be looking on my fingers anyway.
I think it has to do also with how you see yourself and your capability and that
of the other professionals around. In my bodylanguage as well as in my
tonguelanguage and in the total of my behaviour I say: I am the expert on
breastfeeding in this room and you are the expert in NICU nursing or pediatrics
or whoever is around. People understand those messages and will react
appropriate.
A LC assisting a newborn mom does not deed to be a midwife or ob to be able to
handle the postpartum mom, a LC working with a disabled mom does not need to be
a physiotherapist to help the mom find ways to adapt skills to breastfeed in her
special situation, etc.

>      As a hospital based LC you spend so much of the time bucking currents
> practices, in order to be an effective advocate for breast feeding you often
> need to know and understand the basis for the current practices in order to
> change them. Does this make sense?

This is the case in many other settings as well and even in private LCpractice
moms will come with the residus of all kinds of practices in all kinds of health
care settings or with conflicting dr's orders.

RNs with hospital experience have a unique
> perspective, experience, knowledge base that can be an integral part of the
> hospital based LC role, as recognized by the people posting this position.
> Do you have to be an RN to be an LC?, God no.... Do you have to be an RN to
> practice as an LC in the hospital? In some settings-no, in some settings-
> maybe, and in some settings- definitely!

And by going on to request LCs to be RNs one keeps on delaying the acceptance of
LC as a free standing profession.

Perhaps it might be good to expect that every RN that opts for a function in a
NICU to be a LC as well to make sure she is capable of quality care to
vulnarable premies...
Utopia?

Gonneke van Veldhuizen, IBCLC, living in Maaseik, Belgium
http://www.users.skynet.be/eurolac
[log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html