| Allied Health World Home | Lactation Consultant | |
Lactation Consultant Jobs
By an allied health world contributing writer
Published: January 14th, 2010
What types of medical professionals do lactation consultants work with?
Private practice and hospital lactation consultants communicate most often with pediatricians, obstetricians, pharmacists, nurses, endocrinologists, pediatric gastroenterologists, and the occasional surgeon.How many clients does a lactation consultant see in a day?
This, of course, depends on where a lactation consultant is employed, along with a variety of other factors. A hospital-based IBCLC
may be asked to see as few as three or
as many as 18 moms in her shift. The greater the number of patients a consultant sees greatly affects the quality of care she can offer each mom. Private practice lactation consultants can oftentimes be as busy as they choose. That said, most lactation professionals' workload is somewhat dependent on the current birth rates. Learn more about lactation consultant training.
Does a lactation consultant see most of her clients once or multiple times?
Most of the time consultants just need to see their client once and can follow up with phone calls and emails as necessary. Sometimes a problem exists that cannot be fixed during the first visit. For instance, if a baby is tongue tied, this will need to be fixed by a specialist, before the mother and baby are able to come back to fine-tune their latch and learn tongue exercises with a lactation consultant.What is included in a lactation consultant’s realm of practice?
The consultant’s credentials and job description greatly impact what is considered within their realm of practice. For example, as a private practice IBCLC, unless they are a nurse or have other credentials, the consultant cannot prescribe herbs or other supplements. They can suggest resources to provide information regarding various herbs and supplements but cannot outright recommend these. They also cannot diagnose so must be very careful when describing a condition of the mother and/or child. They are also mandated to follow the Code of Conduct which has its own set of restrictions.Learn more about lactation consultant salary.
Do lactation consultants have to be women?
Actually, it is not a requirement that these professionals are women. There are men who are lactation consultants, but they are typically also physicians who have received the IBCLC credential but don’t actually work as a lactation consultant. Examples of men who are registered lactation consultants are Dr. Jack Newman, who owns the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic and Institute, and Dr. James McKenna who is a researcher at The University of Notre Dame Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Lab.What is La Leche League International?
La Leche League philosophy states that breast milk is superior infant food and that it is all a baby needs until he is six months old, which are statements backed up by scientific research. La Leche League International does not turn away mothers who combine breastfeeding and formula. This organization views any amount of breast milk is a viewed as beneficial and positive.Learn more about lactation consultant certification.
Leche League Leaders are accredited volunteer breastfeeding mothers who are authorized to share information from resources approved by the organization. Volunteers use personal breastfeeding experience to help other breastfeeding mothers, and also have resources, such as The Breastfeeding Answer Book, to help answer questions. They are required to refer a mom to IBCLCs for anything outside the “normal course of breastfeeding.”
La Leche League meetings focus on mother-to-mother support, where a mom gets her answers from other breastfeeding moms who attend the meeting.