Any Lactation Consultants/counselors/educators Out There?

[Ahappymel]

Hi all,

I am about to begin a Lactation Counselor/Educator course through UCSD (so excited!).
I do have a degree in Human Development as my background as well as being a nursing mama for 6 1/2 years now (nursing child 2 now).
I understand that I can actually become a certified lactation consultant without being an RN....tempting for the long-term!

My question is, for those of you who are lactation counselors, educators and consultants, what do you do with your education? Where do you work?

Thanks!-Mel.

[kythe]

No, but I've considered it for when I get my RN (I'm an LPN now). I became interested in LC before I even became a nurse. I had no problems at all nursing dd, but ds came along with a severe tongue tie. I pumped and supplemented with formula, and worked with LC's for a while before he was eventually exclusively breastfed. I feel our case could have gone better had I had more information and support at the time, and I began to seriously consider becoming a LC. I also want to become a midwife, so I'm not sure whether I will actually fit all this into my career. We'll see.

Most LC's are RN's who work in the hospital. They can help moms establish normal breastfeeding at birth. They also work through problems such as a difficult birth where breastfeeding was delayed, preemies, birth defects, etc. Many work in hospitals with a NICU since they do a lot with high-needs infants.

It is easier to get the certification for LC if you are an RN first. The way I understand it, RN's need the training course plus 900 hours of hands-on experience helping women breastfeed. This is a lot of work, moreso than most nursing certifications. However, you may need as much as 2,000 to 4,000 hours of hand-on work if you have a lesser degree or no degree at all.

Without a nursing degree, you may be better off becoming a LLL leader and helping moms with more everyday nursing issues. There is always a great need for breastfeeding education and support, on all levels.

[Debstmomy]

I am a LE (from UCSD as well. Gini Baker is GREAT) & a LLL leader. I have found it VERY difficult to find work in this field with out an RN. I have applied for nursing school & hope to add that to the list, so I can finally get paid for doing what I LOVE to do.
Good Luck to you!

[rupiezum]

I'm a CLC, and I work for WIC as a peer counselor. I'm planning to go back to school once my DD is full-day at her school, and am aiming for an RN. Without a medical degree, you're very limited in your options. I figure the RN will give me the most options.

[kythe]

Now that you posted this, it renewed my interest. I just looked up the pathways to LC again. It seems that more clinical experience is needed than what I had posted before.

The International Lactation Consultant Association (say that 10 times fast!) has some good information here:
http://http://www.ilca.org/dirofcourseproviders.html
The links are PDF files, but you can find the IBLCE Pathway Chart on this page. If I got a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing, I would still need 2500 clinical hours before being eligible for certification. You need up to 6-8,000 hours otherwise.

This is another site with information on becoming a LC:
http://http://americas.iblce.org/home.php
Under IBCLC Certification, they explain courses that provide a certain amount of credits that apply toward these hours. Somewhere I read that each year you spend as a La Leche League Leader counts as 500 hours, but half of your hours still need to be one-on-one, not just leading a group.

So it can be done, but it still leaves the question of what you would do with the certification if you don't have a nursing degree. As a nurse, I'm hoping to get some training, then a job as a Breastfeeding Counselor with the local health department. I hope I would be allowed to use actual work experience as hours toward becoming a LC, then move on to the hospital setting. That combined with a year or two of LLLL, and of course the required course, should make it do-able. I'm still not sure how you would acquire all the hours and where you would work without a degree in the medical field.

[bodybookresearcher]

Hi, I write books about people's attitudes toward the body, and the CLC training helped me immensely to get a fuller perspective on why BF is so important in those kinds of discussions. It had a major impact on my current book.

I am also starting to set up websites to help promote BF advocacy and support.

Best wishes.

--Tim

[Ahappymel]

Wow, this info is helpful.
Perhaps someday I'll consider going back to school for an RN...but frankly, it's not my priority now.
So, having said that, I love nurturing mothers because I feel they need so much support during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. I also want to do a postpartum doula workshop and eventually (when kids are older), a birth doula workshop too.
As far as educating myself regarding lactation, I'm trying to decide if the expense (money and time) of educating myself to be the lactation counselor can be justified by what I'll be able to bring in as supplemental income to the family. We don't have the surplus money for me to take classes just for enrichment. Does anyone know what I can realistically do as a lactation counselor and what that looks like as a livelihood? If the cost of this class can't be justified, I'd rather do advocacy by becoming a LLL leader.

[rupiezum]

Originally Posted by Ahappymel

Wow, this info is helpful.
Perhaps someday I'll consider going back to school for an RN...but frankly, it's not my priority now.
So, having said that, I love nurturing mothers because I feel they need so much support during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. I also want to do a postpartum doula workshop and eventually (when kids are older), a birth doula workshop too.
As far as educating myself regarding lactation, I'm trying to decide if the expense (money and time) of educating myself to be the lactation counselor can be justified by what I'll be able to bring in as supplemental income to the family. We don't have the surplus money for me to take classes just for enrichment. Does anyone know what I can realistically do as a lactation counselor and what that looks like as a livelihood? If the cost of this class can't be justified, I'd rather do advocacy by becoming a LLL leader.

Honestly, if I were in your shoes and given what you have said on this thread, I would go the LLLL route. Without a medical degree/certification of some kind, you are extremely limited in where you can work as a lactation counselor.