IBCLCS- Who???

To all the moms who are breast feeding or planning on breast feeding- this one is for you! A BIG thanks to Laurie Beck, RN, MSN, IBCLC who so graciously serves the mommys in this area!

IBCLCS – International Board Certified Lactation Consultants – Who??

-Contributed by Laurie Beck, RN, MSN, IBCLC 9-21-09

International Board Certified Lactation Consultant

It is a well known fact that breastmilk is the preferred and optimal nutrition for all babies. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all babies receive human breastmilk for the first 6 months of life and beyond. Moms are smart these days and have done their research. All moms want the best for their special babies. There are more resources available to moms than they have time to take advantage of. How hard could it be to breastfeed? Women around the world do it everyday and have been doing it for years!! There is an 80/20 Rule I came across in my career many years ago. Eighty percent of the women delivering babies do fine and don’t need assistance with breastfeeding, but then there are twenty percent of the moms that do experience breastfeeding difficulty. An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) is a professional allied health care provider with expertise in the field of lactation who has spent hundreds of hours mentoring under an established IBCLC, attended a minimum of 75 hours of breastfeeding course work, and successfully passed the annual exam that is offered once a year. IBCLCs must recertify every five years and resit for the exam every 10 years.

Situations that may call for an IBCLC are: prenatal breastfeeding classes to prepare to successfully breastfeed, history of maternal infertility or breast reductions, mothers with multiples, mothers with low milk supply issues, difficulty with latching the infant onto the breast, returning to work and school, medications that are safe to take while breastfeeding, etc….

The goal of the IBCLC is to help the mother and the family to make the best decisions for their house. We want you to enjoy your newborn. Breastfeeding should be a positive experience.

If you need to find an IBCLC you can go to www.ilca.org for a lactation consultant directory.

Note from Carrie: For those of you who made it to the Baby Expo, I hope you all had as good a time as I did. My son and I really enjoyed the festivities (ie. the children's dance performances) and all the free samples. Some of my favorite things included the display of new age potties, the free baby yogurt, and hand-out toys to the kids. I also found a plethora of information/resources to be useful and helpful. Thanks HEB!

What was REALLY valuable were all the conversations I had with the professionals who offer their resources to new moms in this area. At the Driscoll Children's Hospital booth I spoke with Laurie Beck, the Lactation Program Coordinator.

She gave me her undivided attention as I expressed some of my concerns about breast feeding. Even though I have breast fed two children already, I was able to receive many new insights from Laurie in just a few minutes. Her offer of information was very timely as I prepare to breast feed my third baby in the coming year.

Laurie was so gracious in sharing more information for the blog. I really appreciate her support and willingness to share. Thank you Laurie!

I'd also like to note that I have added a number of resources to the side bar of the blog. Please take a look :)

Coastal Bend Birth Connection

Driscoll Women's Center

Driscoll Services- Mom's Place (breastfeeding resource)

Holy Family Birth Center

International Lactation Consultant Association

Natural Family Planning and Physiological Birth- By Ann Craigs

Ann has come up with our first real "guest" blog. Thank you Ann! Here it is:
It’s fun to see people’s eyes grow wide when I mention my six physiological births. Four were attended by outsiders and two were assisted by my husband. It’s sad to me however, that when I discuss physiological family planning, people are unaware of what I mean. I learned about natural childbirth from a high school class. I learned about natural family planning from a book.
Not knowing what in the world the title of the book meant, I checked out Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing. It was from La Leche League during the time that I was nursing my first baby. The author, Sheila Kippley, absolutely fascinated me.
Did anyone really space babies like this these days? I almost dismissed the idea; I am a nurse and had never heard of such a thing. Now, skip ahead with me a couple of months. Try to imagine my amazement to discover that my breastfeeding pattern, labeled “ecological breastfeeding” by Kippley, was hormonally keeping my monthly fertility cycles away.
My cute baby nursed frequently day and night. We took a nap together each day, plus delayed solids and liquids until around six months. Since my son hated pacifiers, swings, babysitters and schedules, we avoided them. I nicely went without any menstrual spotting or bleeding for over a year.
Although women breastfeed differently, all these very specific behaviors, named “Seven Standards” by Kippley, usually result in impressive, eco-friendly child spacing. I repeated these special circumstances with all my children. Sheila’s 2008 book, The Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding has newer research that should definitely be in nursing school courses. However, the book is written for ordinary moms. I have met many women for years, who are equally pleased with this as I am.
I next learned a broader form of ‘physiological’ family planning. When the breastfeeding infertility stops, I monitor my temperature and cervical signs daily. If not planning a child, we abstain on the fertile days and enjoy marital intimacy on the naturally infertile days. I feel so clean being patch-free, pill-free, shot-free, and latex-free. It’s similar to birthing without drugs, devices, and interventions. I am very respectful of my husband who ‘two-steps’ with me on this. Just as behaviors indicate different stages of labor, so my body signs, jotted down quickly on a chart, indicate my phases of fertility and infertility.
I am indebted to Sheila’s husband, John, as well. This couple just published a slim 2009 book, Natural Family Planning, The Complete Approach. I got a coil-bound version, perfect for home study. In addition to charting, breastfeeding, and special situations, one chapter explains why some use this for moral reasons and another chapter has true stories of how this has improved women’s childbearing years. To preview it, see a free downloadable form at http://www.nfpandmore.org/.
Ann enjoys all her children, physical and spiritual, that she has been around over the years while volunteering as a nurse, breastfeeding counselor and NFP instructor. She enjoys fishing and knitting and wouldn't trade her life for anyone's - well, maybe trade with a midwife :) Recent highlights in her life include the first grandbaby, plus seeing John and Sheila Kippley receive an honorary doctorate from Franciscan University , both events in the winter of 2008.


1 COMMENTS:
Anonymous said...
I had a similar experience to Ann's--learning about ecological breastfeeding and natural family planning through alternative means. I remember mentioning nfp to my doctor before I got married and he dismissed it. I wish that the medical establishment had good data on this method. I would never go back to artificial birth control methods. Natural family planning treats my feminine nature with the dignity it deserves. It treats my marriage with the dignity is deserves.

I have successfully used ecological breastfeeding to postpone my menstrual cycle for up to 15 months. It works to postpone pregnancy and nurtures a beautiful relationship with the new baby. Doctors need to know more about this method and be able to offer more options to their patients.

T Kimmel, mother of 7 and a baby on the way