RE: professional lactation guides

[Guest guest]

Wow this sounds like it's gonna get ugly.

I seem to be seeing more clearly why licensing is a must.

Lou Moramarco IBCLC

Birth,

Breastfeeding & Before

International

Board Certified Lactation Consultant

Bradley

Childbirth Educator

Certified

Birth Doula

(732)

239-7771 marylou22@...

www.lunadoula.com

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From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of Mc

Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 7:07

AM

To:

Subject:

" professional lactation guides "

The theme of the current issue of Midwifery Today is

Breastfeeding - I haven't read it all yet but I did read " Meeting the

Need: Building Communities of Lactation Support " by Angelique Chelton,

Certified Lactation Counselor. Her first suggestion includes conducting a

survey of local bfing support, are there IBCLCs CLCs, CLEs, support groups in

your area? " Take some time to understand just what services these

professionals are offering and to whom. Please abandon unsupported ideas that assert

that some lactation guides are better than others. Just as there is no

hierarchy between various types of midwives, there is no hierarchy in

professional lactation support. Be willing to consider that perhaps the letters

behind a name don't matter as much as the heart, mind and experience of the

guide. Let's be brave and take into account that all kinds of lactation guides

have something valuable to offer the women in our community. "

I agree that all of the various forms of lactation support are valuable - but

the comparison is wrong. You wouldn't ask a doula to stitch up a torn perineum

or a midwife to perform a c-section.

~ McCormick, IBCLC

Shelburne, VT

[Guest guest]

wrote, "I agree that all of the various forms of lactation support are valuable - but the comparison is wrong. You wouldn't ask a doula to stitch up a torn perineum or a midwife to perform a c-section."Well said!

Lynn Thiebaud, RN, IBCLCA Perfect Fit Lactation

[Guest guest]

Re: this magazine's (I suppose? Perhaps it is electronic media only, I used to

get an electronic newsletter from Midwifery Today)....regardless, message.

'...abandon unsupported ideas that assert some lactation guides are better than

others'.

We are in service to mothers and babies. It is a grave disservice to the mothers

and babies we support when the focus is turned to 'leveling the playing field'

of qualifications out of our own personal desire to avoid reflecting upon or

examining the qualifications that are necessary to develop the various

knowledge, skills, and abilities that are a desirable component of breastfeeding

support.

It becomes evident to me that this is personal for the author as I read her

assertion that there is no existence of a 'hierarchy' among midwives, nor

professional lactation support. The use of the word 'hierarchy' implies to me

that this issue is personal for her. It's not a hierarchy, which implies

superiors and subordinates. Yet those 'credentials' *are* related to a

demonstrated degree of experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, values and

attitudes. By earning the credential of the IBCLC the professional has

demonstrated they possess the minimum criteria to earn the credential.

This is the simplest way of informing consumers that this professional possesses

at a minimum these skills. The other credentials are so mired in a variety of

criteria to earn the credential, nobody can really know for certain what was

necessary for this particular professional to earn their 'alphabet soup'.

I don't need to be *brave* (as the author suggests) to acknowledge the value

each of these professionals brings to the breastfeeding dyad! I just need to

work with moms and babies to know it! It has also been well researched the value

of a variety of types of lactation support, that's not rocket science.

The bravery comes perhaps when we are willing to reflect upon the skills each of

these professionals must possess and acknowledge that in some cases (certainly

not all) the qualifications of the IBCLC are much more suitable to mitigate the

obstacles this pair is having as compared to some of the other credentials. When

we do that we make it about the dyad, not the professional. And that's where the

focus should be.

And it's *the right thing to do* when we as IBCLCs refer mothers to perhaps, one

another when we acknowledge the pair would benefit from the experience,

knowledge and expertise of a specific IBCLC who has distinguished herself in a

particular area of the discipline, or to another health professional, chiro,

CST, MD etc. when the needs of the dyad exceed our knowledge, skills and

abilities, yet we recognize the other professionals perspective will be helpful

as well.

It's selfish not to do so. Those circumstances warrant a referral because other

people are going to serve the pair more capably

(I know this is a generalization.....you all know what I mean...find someone who

is informed about lactation *and* their discipline so the referral works and

isn't sabotaging breastfeeding).

I feel like the hairs on the back of people's necks raise up because they are

taking the references to their level of skill and abilities related to their

'credentials' personally and they are not willing to abandon their own personal

desire to be the resource moms and babies seek in the interest of helping the

pair.

It's really very selfish.

>

> The theme of the current issue of Midwifery Today is Breastfeeding - I haven't

read it all yet but I did read " Meeting the Need: Building Communities of

Lactation Support " by Angelique Chelton, Certified Lactation Counselor. Her

first suggestion includes conducting a survey of local bfing support, are there

IBCLCs CLCs, CLEs, support groups in your area? " Take some time to understand

just what services these professionals are offering and to whom. Please abandon

unsupported ideas that assert that some lactation guides are better than others.

Just as there is no hierarchy between various types of midwives, there is no

hierarchy in professional lactation support. Be willing to consider that

perhaps the letters behind a name don't matter as much as the heart, mind and

experience of the guide. Let's be brave and take into account that all kinds of

lactation guides have something valuable to offer the women in our community. "

>

> I agree that all of the various forms of lactation support are valuable - but

the comparison is wrong. You wouldn't ask a doula to stitch up a torn perineum

or a midwife to perform a c-section.

>

> ~ McCormick, IBCLC

> Shelburne, VT

>

[Guest guest]

Oh my gosh! ok. every one os us needs to write an article similar to the one I wrote. gotta get the truth out there! Beebe, M.Ed., IBCLC Lactation Consultant/Postpartum Doula www.second9months.comwww.facebook.com/thesecond9months.--- Subject:

"professional lactation guides"To: Date: Friday, March 9, 2012, 4:06 AM

The theme of the current issue of Midwifery Today is Breastfeeding - I haven't read it all yet but I did read "Meeting the Need: Building Communities of Lactation Support" by Angelique Chelton, Certified Lactation Counselor. Her first suggestion includes conducting a survey of local bfing support, are there IBCLCs CLCs, CLEs, support groups in your area? "Take some time to understand just what services these professionals are offering and to whom. Please abandon unsupported ideas that assert that some lactation guides are better than others. Just as there is no hierarchy between various types of midwives, there is no hierarchy in professional lactation support. Be willing to consider that perhaps the letters behind a name don't matter as much as the heart, mind and experience of the guide. Let's be brave and take into account that all kinds of lactation guides have something valuable to offer the women in our community."

I agree that all of the various forms of lactation support are valuable - but the comparison is wrong. You wouldn't ask a doula to stitch up a torn perineum or a midwife to perform a c-section.

~ McCormick, IBCLC

Shelburne, VT