Carol and friends:

This whole issue of the IBCLC (who, BTW is not an ILCA member--a problem in
my opinion), seems to be undermining the whole promotion of bf in our
community.  We've got a hospital that is not exactly baby-friendly (and
yes, it's the only hospital--no birth center here either).  I'm on the
steering committee that brought Healthy Start to this community (so now
every baby/mom gets a home health visit during the first week), but that
only goes so far.  The home health nurses are very well trained (2 or 3 are
IBCLCs--can't remember now) and do their best, but they only get to see the
moms in the immediate post-partum period.  We all hesitate to refer moms to
the practice where this LC works, but since most moms' insurance only will
pay for that practice, we have our hands tied.  Most of the time in these
cases, I just see the mom for a sliding fee/free (had to make certain my
liability insurance didn't have a problem with this).  It's a mess not
because she personally profits from the gadgets themselves, but from the
repeat follow-up visits and the PERCEPTION that all moms NEED her. Harumph!

: )Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC  email: [log in to unmask]  : )
: )HSR & Health Educational Consultant        voice/fax: 541 753 7340   : )
: )------------**CHANGE THE WORLD, NURTURE A CHILD!**------------------ : )