getting paid to help breastfeeding moms? - Page 2

[Breastfeeding Insomniac]

Originally Posted by transformed

hmmmm I go to LLL meetings to talk with young mothers, wouild that count?

Are you helping them with bf issues? Than that should count. Anytime spent working with mothers in that capacity should count towards your BC hours. Maybe you should look into becoming a leader also, just for the experience.

[transformed]

Originally Posted by Blondimom728

Are you helping them with bf issues? Than that should count. Anytime spent working with mothers in that capacity should count towards your BC hours. Maybe you should look into becoming a leader also, just for the experience.

I am totally there for them. In fact, I havent nursed a baby since December! Soon my new one will be born, and I am so excited.

I have tossed the idea of leading around, and I am not sure because I have several issues i am passionate about like non-vax that women sometimes like to talk about 'on the side' and I really look forward to helping them with some of these questions. (You arent really allowed to as a leader, I am not particularly skilled at keeping my mouth shut. )

Its on my radar, but I haven't decided yet. It would take some serious personal growth on my part....which takes some time.

[Livviesmom0207]

[QUOTE=Blondimom728;9559723]Here is some info on becoming an IBCLC, I would reccomend to anyone interested, get started now earning BC (breastfeeding counseling)hours, bc at minimum you need 2500 in order to be eligible to sit for the exam.


This is my ultimate goal. I was supposed to go with the other peer counselors to get CLC but I couldn't bring my nursling and she's only 8.5 months and EBF. The class is 2 hours from my house and it's long days so there was no way to do it right now.

I can't wait until I can be an IBCLC.

[Breastfeeding Insomniac]

[QUOTE=Livviesmom0207;9561627

This is my ultimate goal. I was supposed to go with the other peer counselors to get CLC but I couldn't bring my nursling and she's only 8.5 months and EBF. The class is 2 hours from my house and it's long days so there was no way to do it right now.

I can't wait until I can be an IBCLC.[/QUOTE]

I can def understand that! I never want to leave my baby, most bf classes/conferences, etc will honor the innocenti declaration amd let you bring a younger nursling with you, but by 8.5 months, it would def be a challenge! I strongly encourage you to get involved with LLL, its a great way to meet a lot of great people and start to accrue some hours. Is there a way you can work towards your CLC online?

[amys35]

I'm taking most of my classes online at health-e-learning.com

[MonkeysRUs]

Originally Posted by Blondimom728

Are you helping them with bf issues? Than that should count. Anytime spent working with mothers in that capacity should count towards your BC hours. Maybe you should look into becoming a leader also, just for the experience.

Unfortunately, helping moms while attending LLL meetings doesn't count towards BC (Breastfeeding Counseling) hours. As a LLL Leader, however, you get 500 BC hours a year. Becoming a leader is certainly a good way to get started, and a lot of leaders go on to become IBCLCs.

BC hours have to be supervised (you have to be accountable to someone). If you download the "Candidate Information Guide" from the link below, it explains their policies on mother-to-mother counselors on page 6.

http://www.iblce.org/documents.htm

[wednesday]

In order to sit for the IBCLC exam, you have to accumulate a certain number of hours working with BF-ing moms. It's 2500 if you have a 4-year college degree (in any subject), and I think 4000 if you do not have a college degree. I think if you are already an RN it's fewer hours, I don't remember.

There seem to be primarily three ways people get their hours. Either they already work in a hospital nursery or L&D setting so they just get them through work no problem. Or they become a LLL leader -- each year that you are a leader you can count as 500 hours. Or they become a WIC peer counselor and count actual hours worked. If you worked say 15-20 hours a week it would take a couple years.

There are a couple alternatives which are laid out on the IBCLE website, but they didn't seem very doable to me -- would take an enormous investment of time and money to qualify to take the exam sooner and not have to accumulate as many contact hours. Like if you already have a BA/BS there are a couple correspondence programs where you can get a masters in nutrition specializing in lactation. That reduces the number of hours you have to have.

Any way you look at it, it is a huge commitment to get "qualified" to help BF-ing moms. The very first step and one I am hoping to do soon, is to take a weeklong course which qualifies you as a "lactation educator". This means you could teach breastfeeding classes, and do a hospital internship to get more hands-on experience. The only one of these classes anywhere near me is two hours away and held only once a year. I missed it this past year due to a work conflict so I'm waiting for it to come around again.

If you go the WIC peer counselor route, they typically provide that same training to you free of charge. I'm already employed fulltime though so that's not a good option for me.

[Breastfeeding Insomniac]

Originally Posted by MonkeysRUs

Unfortunately, helping moms while attending LLL meetings doesn't count towards BC (Breastfeeding Counseling) hours. As a LLL Leader, however, you get 500 BC hours a year. Becoming a leader is certainly a good way to get started, and a lot of leaders go on to become IBCLCs.

BC hours have to be supervised (you have to be accountable to someone). If you download the "Candidate Information Guide" from the link below, it explains their policies on mother-to-mother counselors on page 6.

http://www.iblce.org/documents.htm

This is good to know, I thought that if you attended meetings for the purpose of helping, that it did count. I was a pathway B, an RN who worked w/ bf moms for years, so it was easy for me to accumulate hours. I needed 4,000 bc I have an associates degree. I know there is one alternative pathway for those that are starting out with no hours, where you are mentored by an IBLC who has at least 5 yrs experience, and it cuts down the amount of BC hours that you need. I am not sure how it all works though.

[Breastfeeding Insomniac]

Originally Posted by amys35

I'm taking most of my classes online at health-e-learning.com

I love health-e-learning. I have taken a few classes with them.

[transformed]

and then how do you actually get paid to help bf moms? I dont think i would want to send the mom a bill, kwim?

[Breastfeeding Insomniac]

Originally Posted by transformed

and then how do you actually get paid to help bf moms? I dont think i would want to send the mom a bill, kwim?

I am mostly hospital based, so my salary is from the hospital. I cdo a little private practice and have a hard time charging for it, but its bad to ne that way bc you can burn yourself out fast.

I help way too much on the phone and very rarely does it lead to a consult. Then even when I do a consult, I still give to much follow up. For my consult fee for a two hour consult, I easily spend 10 hours over the next few weeks on follow up via phone/email. I have clients that will call me for parenting advice or any other issue thats really not a bf one, but how do I turn them away? It is very hard. So a two hour consult fee ends up dwindling down to basically pennies per hour when you really look at how much time you have spent w/ someone. I recently discussed this w/ a mental health NP who does private practice and she gave me good advice, that if something is important enough for the person, they will pay for it. I don't expect my hair stylist to do my cut and highlights for free, and the cost of that is probably more than what you charge for a consult, yet people will milk us for what they can get for free. I am definitely giving away to much of myself, but its hard when you are so passionate about something, to just refer to LLL, or worse, back to the MD who we know will probably give bf misinformation a lot of the time.

Becoming an LC is hard work and a long road, its not like a sally struthers mail order course, so I have to constantly remind myself of that. It took a lot of time and a lot of money to get my license, and it takes me away from my family, so I need to be compensated, but that does not make it easier to take the money, I need to get over that.

[Nature]

'subbing..

I've had many people tell me that because of my passion, and the fact that I've been nursing for 4.5 years (tandem now, triandem in a few months) that I should look into becoming an LLL leader..

[MonkeysRUs]

Thinking about LLL Leadership

The above link has info on becoming a LLL leader.