Becoming a lactation consultant- where to start?

[Rikki Jean]

I think this is where I should post this...

I want to eventually become a lactation consultant, but I really have no idea where to start. Do I have to have a nursing degree? Do I have to have a degree at all? How do I find the educational institute that is going to be the most pro-breastfeeding?

Sorry if these are silly questions; as much as I am a lactivist and know lots about breastfeeding, I have no idea where to go for the LC stuff.

[maxmama]

No, you don't need to be a nurse or have a degree, but the number of hours required will increase without a degree. (From 2500 to 4000)

You need to take a comprehensive lactation course (30 hours minimum).

Practice hours can be tough to accumulate if it's not part of your job. Being a LLL Leader counts, as can some other volunteer work. I know a lot of nurses who volunteer with young moms or as PP doulas specifically to accumulate lactation hours.

Here's the IBCLE site: http://www.iblce.org/old/become.htm . Good luck!

[laurdsed]

In some areas (like mine) it's harder to get a job as an LC if you aren't a nurse. You might want to check around and ask other LCs what the job requirements are for getting hired. There are no hospitals or clinics in our area that will hire an LC without being an RN. :

Of course, you can always start your own LC business, too. Just something to think about before you put a lot of work and study into a new career.

Best wishes,

Laurel

[timneh_mom]

I would recommend looking into becoming a La Leche League leader. That will give you some great experience, and you don't need any type of degree for it, you just need to have nursed your baby! You'll get your feet wet enough to see if you want to continue on to become a LC.

[wednesday]

You can learn a lot by subscribing to LactNet, which is a mail list for lactation consultants:

http://www.lsoft.se/scripts/wl.exe?S...NITY.LSOFT.COM

[Rikki Jean]

Thanks for all the info everyone!

Originally Posted by maxmama

No, you don't need to be a nurse or have a degree, but the number of hours required will increase without a degree. (From 2500 to 4000)

You need to take a comprehensive lactation course (30 hours minimum).

Practice hours can be tough to accumulate if it's not part of your job. Being a LLL Leader counts, as can some other volunteer work. I know a lot of nurses who volunteer with young moms or as PP doulas specifically to accumulate lactation hours.

Here's the IBCLE site: http://www.iblce.org/old/become.htm . Good luck!

So, judging from the IBCLE site, even though I don't have to have a degree, it would be helpful. I'd like to do something with nutrition anyway, and that's one of the required background fields...I already have my GE almost completed (just haven't been back since DS was born), so I'm really almost half way to a degree anyway. Pathway C, listed on the site, would work for me (and it's only 900 hours), if I could do nutrition with a concentration in human lactation. Now I just need to find a good school for that!

Originally Posted by laurdsed

In some areas (like mine) it's harder to get a job as an LC if you aren't a nurse. You might want to check around and ask other LCs what the job requirements are for getting hired. There are no hospitals or clinics in our area that will hire an LC without being an RN. :

Of course, you can always start your own LC business, too. Just something to think about before you put a lot of work and study into a new career.

Thanks Laurel, that's something good to think about. I'm thinking more of working privately or with a ped's office than in a hospital setting anyway, but I'm not really sure yet, especially since I'm just learning all of this info. I really don't have an interest in pulling 12 hour shifts at a hospital, I do know that.

Originally Posted by timneh_mom

I would recommend looking into becoming a La Leche League leader. That will give you some great experience, and you don't need any type of degree for it, you just need to have nursed your baby! You'll get your feet wet enough to see if you want to continue on to become a LC.

I've been thinking about doing that for about the last year anyway! I'm finally at a point where I feel like I can commit to it, and I was already planning to talk to my LLL leader about it at our meeting tomorrow.

I do want to make this a career though, something I really can't do as just a LLL leader. However, as a leader, I'll still be helping other women, and getting some of the experience that I need to be an LC anyway.

Originally Posted by wednesday

You can learn a lot by subscribing to LactNet, which is a mail list for lactation consultants:

http://www.lsoft.se/scripts/wl.exe?S...NITY.LSOFT.COM

Thanks, I'm subscribing now!

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

Health-e-learning.com...has some really great courses for LC's to get cerps. It little a little pricey but you can get them very quickley. Good Luck

[Rikki Jean]

Originally Posted by Mamato3wild ponnie

Health-e-learning.com...has some really great courses for LC's to get cerps. It little a little pricey but you can get them very quickley. Good Luck

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[wednesday]

A lot of aspiring LCs get their hours by working as peer counselors for a WIC office. The pay is kind of low, around $7-10/hour, but you typically get some kind of training (that you don't have to pay out of pocket for) and you can accumulate hours. Usually the positions are part-time, which can work well for moms of young children, and you don't need any kind of education or experience other than having breastfed your own baby.

[Rikki Jean]

Originally Posted by wednesday

A lot of aspiring LCs get their hours by working as peer counselors for a WIC office. The pay is kind of low, around $7-10/hour, but you typically get some kind of training (that you don't have to pay out of pocket for) and you can accumulate hours. Usually the positions are part-time, which can work well for moms of young children, and you don't need any kind of education or experience other than having breastfed your own baby.

When I asked about peer counseling at my WIC office, they acted like I was nuts! The girls in the front kept telling me that if I needed help, they could help me. I had to explain like five times that I didn't need any help, I wanted to help other women! : Anyway, they gave me a number to call, and I keep forgetting to do that. Must be because they put it on the tiniest sticky note in existence, so it's not staring at me in the face to remind me!