In a message dated 99-10-29 11:19:28 EDT, you write:

<< We have a person in my area (Texas) who is an RN but has never had a baby,
 nursed a baby or been involved in LLL or any other BF organization. She rents
 breast pumps, and is doing consults....She has taken a 24 HR breastfeeding
course and feels that she knows all she needs to know to see mothers
privately and bill $50 for her "consultation." As there are no laws that
prevent her from doing this, it is the mother's who pay the price for her
lack of knowledge and expertise. As most mother's are not aware of what IBCLC
means, this person is free to misrepresent her skills!!  This is the reason
we need a standard for credentials!! >>

Although it appears that some of this nurse's practices re: breastfeeding
consults are questionable and I strongly disagree with her failure to get
credentialed, I do wonder why the consultant's parental status was mentioned
or what that status has to do with her ability to provide care re:
breastfeeding dyads. I think the poster was just citing one more example of
how this particular nurse is not really prepared to practice as a LC, but it
made me think of other discussions in which some seemed to feel passionately
that one must have personal experience to provide care for breastfeeding
dyads. I have a real problem with that viewpoint.

Not to negate the role of experience, but no one expects a certified
specialist in diabetes, ostomy or oncology care to have diabetes, an ostomy
of some sort, or cancer.  Sure, the specialist with personal experience would
bring something special to the role, but many caring, empathetic specialists
have done tremendous work without the experience. And there are times when
personal experience can get in the way, too--interfere with a specialist's
objectivity resulting in poorer outcome for a client.

I think health care of the breastfeeding dyad would be in a much better place
if those in the field could all get past the notion that this is something
one has to have done in order to provide a high quality of care.

Karen

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