Hi Nanci,
I have some ideas for you.
Are you still working as an OB nurse? You could start a support group, or a
brown bag lunch group for moms. You could volunteer, or even ask your
manager if you could be paid to make followup phone calls to the bf moms,
the first week or even longer. You could add some classes like a working
moms class. A good friend of mine volunteered at her own pediatrician's
office while she was taking a distance education LC course. He would call
her when he had a bf patient that needed help, or you could offer your
services on a day you were off, maybe a half day each week.
When I was a NICU nurse in the 80's, some of us started a committee to make
the unit more bf-friendly. We divided up all the bf moms, and each of us had
a caseload of moms to follow (in addition to our nicu duties). We would help
and inform them about pumping, help them rent a pump, keep them in supplies
and labels, and help them get started when the baby was ready to go to
breast. We had meetings, and our boss sent us to conferences when she could.
In return, we presented several continuing education programs to the staff.
If you know some of the OB docs or if there are midwives, you could
volunteer to see antenatal patients or see them at the OB followup. You have
to brainstorm.
The best preparation, though, would be working with an experienced IBCLC who
has recertified at least once. This is a process that can't really be
rushed, just like becoming a nurse, or any other profession. It does take
some time, and you may or may not be ready in July. You actually have to be
ready before that, because you have to apply with all your documentation and
references, and pay your fees some weeks or months prior to the exam date.
Even if you take it the following year, do not despair, you will be spending
alot more of your time working with bf moms (as suggestions above) and
attending C.E. programs to get those hours in too. So you will feel more
like an LC anyway, and then when you sit the exam you will be much more
confident. I was a nurse for 13 yrs before becoming board certified in
lactation in 1992, then morphed from nicu with IBCLC into just IBCLC work
now for about 10 years. It is a journey.
Good luck,
Laurie Wheeler, RN, MN IBCLC
Mississippi USA

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