Dear Karen,
Your clarification is right on! As LCs, we function as "hired help" and of
course can and should develop warm, caring styles while we delve into the
breastfeeding problem. We aren't functioning as mother-support-leaders, even
if we use some of the same listening skills in theraputic relationships. Our
clients come to us because we're "experts,'" not because we are mothers who
breastfed their kid(s).

What I MEANT was that some problems are solveable through
listening/counseling skills, where we help the mother work through her
difficulty - we function closer to the doula role.  Other problems require
more clinical/technical knowledge and expertise.  A poor suck isn't solved by
listening to the mother; coaching her through through a difficult relative's
visit isn't a clinical issue.

The scopes of practice of mother-support-group leaders and peer counselors
overlap with that of the LC and other health care providers.  That's a
strength, not a weakness. Skills acquired in other roles add to the depth and
skill of the LC. In the changing paradigm of health care, overlapping scopes
are more common than exclusive domains - and the LC profession is an
excellent example of this.

Linda Smith, overlapper-par-excellence