NMA: Newsletter 5 Article 3

For many thousands of years, there have been mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and sisters that have helped a new mom and her baby work out any breastfeeding problems that may arise. It is only in the last 75 years that our culture in America has shifted dramatically to a bottle-feeding culture. In many parts of the United States, we now have second and sometimes third generations of new mothers who have no experienced women surrounding them who have breastfed before. Many new mothers get bombarded with free formula samples, gifts, and promotional formula advertising. As young men and women, we are not educated about breastfeeding. We are taught to ignore the fact that breasts were designed for feeding. We often give birth in a hospital that may or may not have well-trained nurses or doctors on staff who can help you work through any difficulties that may arise. This is where a breastfeeding Counselor or Lactation Consultant can help.

Lactation Consultants work in a variety of settings – hospitals, physician’s offices, birth centers, home care agencies, health agencies such as WIC, and in private practice. Often, they rent and sell breast pumps, offer classes and do breastfeeding consultations. An IBCLC or Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant, is a trained health care professional that receives payment for her services and she can be helpful to moms and babies in normal and unusual situations. They take a history, make an assessment, observe, make suggestions, write a care plan, offer follow up, and also report to the primary care physician the status of the situation and the suggestions given.

At Nursing Mothers Alliance, Breastfeeding Counselors receive comprehensive training under the direction of an IBCLC. They run monthly meetings where pregnant and nursing mothers can meet other breastfeeding moms and discuss relevant topics and find answers to their questions. A pregnant mom can come to any meeting and request a “Getting Started” talk about the basics of breastfeeding. NMA Breastfeeding Counselors run a free phone service for breastfeeding questions called the Warmline. It is “warm” instead of “hot” because callers leave a message and a trained counselor promptly returns their call that day. NMA Counselors do not make home visits and for complicated breastfeeding problems they will always refer to a Lactation Consultant or physician.

A Lactation Consultant and a Breastfeeding Counselor are similar in that they both help with: basic breastfeeding education and encouragement; latch-on problems; sore nipple or engorgement problems; low milk supply issues; and any ‘back to work’ concerns that may arise.

To create a plentiful supply of breast milk, babies need to nurse effectively 8 to 12 times every 24 hours from the beginning of life. But, breastfeeding is a learned skill – for both mom and baby. It takes fine motor skills, gross motor skills, time and patience. Plus, even though you may have read all the books, the baby didn’t!

To speak to an NMA Breastfeeding Counselor or to be referred to a Lactation Consultant, please call the Warmline at (610) 251-9405. For breastfeeding information on line visit: