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How to train as a Breastfeeding Counsellor

11/25/2014

32 Comments

 
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Do you think you might want to train as a breastfeeding counsellor?

Here’s a quick quiz…

1.       Do you find a woman breastfeeding in public puts you off your coffee because…

(a)    It’s a bit awkward

or

(b)   You sit there wondering whether she’d mind if you went up to her and congratulated her for feeding in a café

(and after much deliberation you eventually decide on the ‘warm smile/ thumbs up’ combo)

If you answered ‘a’, this is probably not the article for you.

2.       Can your facebook wall easily display photos of the breasts of five different women from two different continents in one week?

3.       Does your partner mention to pregnant strangers that they might want to talk to you about breastfeeding?

4.       Does your mum save newspaper clippings of articles on breastfeeding? (when you actually heard about the article two weeks ago and have already have three online discussions about it)

5.       Do you wish everyone could breastfeed for as long as they want to and you get frustrated when you hear that doesn’t always happen?

This may be the article for you then.

Becoming a breastfeeding counsellor in the UK is fundamentally about volunteering your time to help mothers to reach their own breastfeeding goals. You will need to be able to empathise, offer emotional support and information. You will need to appreciate that not all breastfeeding mothers look the same or make the same choices. You will not be offering ‘advice’ but empowering mums (and their partners) to make their own decisions.

It is immensely important and rewarding work and breastfeeding counsellors are desperately needed.

It's worth noting that this is not going to be a new career path for most people who train as a breastfeeding counsellor. If you train as an NCT practitioner, you may be able to make a career out of it. There are also some paid breastfeeding support roles available in some parts of the country depending on projects in your area, but these are few and far between.

What is for sure is that the skills you learn, the experiences you have, the people you meet will make this worthwhile – both in a ‘future employment’ sense and a wider life-changing sense.

There are four main organisations you can train with in the UK. There are some things different about the training (cost, location, philosophy of the organisations).

There are some things that are the same about all of them:

You’ll be focusing on the needs of the mother and baby and putting your personal experiences to one side whenever possible.

You will use good listening skills to support mums and their families.

You will be expected to provide evidence-based information – that means information based on science, research and best practice. You won’t be giving personal opinions.

You’ll be working as a team with other people supporting the mum. You may refer to GPs or health visitors or midwives. Breastfeeding counsellors don’t work in isolation and are great at sign-posting to other services.

You’ll get on-going training and supervision to help you in your role.

Here’s how you can go about getting trained:

If you want to train with the NCT, you have a couple of options. You can take the paid option to become a self-employed NCT practitioner. http://www.nct.org.uk/nct-college/work-opportunities#level5   NCT BFCs may take sessions of antenatal classes, run support groups and work on the NCT helpline. The course costs approximately £6,500 and takes two years to complete. It can be done in less time if you study full-time. There are some bursaries available. You study for a foundation degree with the University of Worcester and take the ‘breastfeeding pathway’. You start with the essentials course to become a ‘birth and beyond practitioner’ and then go onto do the breastfeeding specialism.  You will need to have breastfed one child for at least six months. The breastfeeding pathway consists of 3 modules (counselling skills, applying counselling skills, understanding women’s experiences of breastfeeding): each requiring 2 study days and 5 tutorials. Some of the study days will be at the University of Worcester and some arranged in a more local area depending on numbers of students. The course will include writing a 3000 word essay, short answer questions, tutor group discussions and a range of learning experiences.

You can also qualify as a VOLUNTEER NCT breastfeeding counsellor: http://www.nct.org.uk/nct-college/course-options/nct-voluntary-role-breastfeeding-counsellor-training.  You need to have breastfed for a minimum of six months before you apply. The training costs £625 rather than £6500. It still takes a couple of years and is spread over 15 tutorials and study days. Again locations vary but some sessions will be at the University of Worcester. Babes-in-arms can come to study days and you can bring an older breastfeeding child too provided you also bring an extra carer for them. Volunteer counsellors support mothers without receiving payment and may support at drop-in groups and throughout their local community.

If you train with La Leche League, you’ll be called a La Leche League leader rather than a breastfeeding counsellor: https://www.laleche.org.uk/content/thinking-about-lll-leadership.

It’s a good idea to read the La Leche League book, 'The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding' (which is a good read for anyone interested in breastfeeding) and familiarise yourself with the ten concepts that are important to La Leche League. That’s not to say a La Leche League leader wouldn’t support any breastfeeding mother whatever her parenting views but just that the La Leche League is underpinned by a philosophy that will shape your appreciation of the mother/ child relationship and all leaders will share:  https://www.laleche.org.uk/sites/default/files/LAD%20Brochure%20final%20Jan%202011.pdf
You should also find out if there are La Leche League meetings local to you and attend some. 
https://www.laleche.org.uk/find-lll-group

You’ll be expected to have breastfed for at least nine months. Many leaders train with an established leader at an established meeting but if you don’t have one close enough to you, there are other ways of doing it. The training is a combination of face-to-face and written work and can take two years depending on your pace. The pace will be very individual to you and might depend on things like the age of your children. You can find out the current fees by contacting LLLGB.

La Leche League leaders will usually support at a local meeting (they may share running a meeting with other leaders) and can also support on the LLL helpline.

You can also become a breastfeeding supporter with the Breastfeeding Network. That’s their word for a breastfeeding counsellor equivalent – not to be confused with ‘peer supporters’ from other organisations who will have done a shorter course. Training happens locally and is face-to-face: http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/get-involved/train-to-be-a-registered-volunteer/

Opportunities depend on funding and what is available in your local area. This is what is currently available: http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/get-involved/train-to-be-a-registered-volunteer/areas-where-we-are-able-to-provide-some-training/

You will not have to pay any training fees. You start by training as a breastfeeding HELPER and then you can go on to do the supporter training if it’s available. Helper training consists of 12 two-hour sessions and babes-in-arms are welcome. Supporter training usually takes approximately two years to complete. The expectation is you will volunteer for the BfN after your training by offering face-to-face support at groups or on the BfN helpline or National Breastfeeding Helpline (phone or webchat). The training will often take place in tutors’ homes and consists of written and oral work.

The last charity you can train with is the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers. Like the Breastfeeding Network, you start with the first level course (which the ABM calls ‘Mother Supporter’ course) and then you can go on to train to become a breastfeeding counsellor which takes approximately 18 months to two years. http://abm.me.uk/about-the-abm/training-with-the-association-of-breastfeeding-mothers/

You need to have breastfed for a minimum of six months before you apply. The course costs £100 and you also have to be a member of the ABM. It is then expected that counsellors volunteer on the helpline for a minimum of two years after training. The ABM helps run the National Breastfeeding Helpline with the BfN and have their own helpline. Many ABM counsellors also support in their local community. The ABM training is a distance learning programme. This means that you submit written modules and communicate with tutors via email and phone and through online discussion. There are some practical activities such as observations and practise phone calls and you are required to attend one study day a year. The advantage to a home study course is that you don’t have to leave young children and the training can happen anywhere. However it is not a learning style that works for everyone and requires independent organisation and reading at home. There are eight additional modules after the initial Mother Supporter course has been completed.

So those are your options. If you read those descriptions and felt excitement and anticipation, this may be a path for you. If you read them and thought, ‘that sounds like a tremendous hassle’ – perhaps not.

There are other ways you can support mothers depending on your passion and your experience:

You may be interested in becoming a doula (breastfeeding support is often part of a doula's role too): http://doula.org.uk/content/becoming-doula
Or perhaps training to become a home start volunteer: 
http://www.home-start.org.uk/volunteer/
Or volunteering for a charity like Bliss: http://www.bliss.org.uk/get-involved/ or PANDAS, who help mums with depression: 
http://www.pandasfoundation.org.uk/get-involved/volunteering.html#.VHSVZYusXg8

On Twitter and Facebook, you’ll find counsellors and trainers from all of these organisations who I’m sure will be happy to answer any of your questions.

If you have the time and the inclination, you can make an incredible difference to the lives of new mums and babies. Your commitment is desperately needed.

Information accurate as of November 2014. Check website links for current updates.


32 Comments
Louise Hilborne
9/1/2016 01:52:46 pm

Is there any way I can give my help and support freely to new mums without a financial cost to me? I have successfully breastfed exclusively 4 children for a combined period of 6 years. Whilst working in a medical centre for a few years I was often called on for advice in this respect and gave it willingly. I'm now advising my daughter on her newborns feeding and feel I have much to offer to other mums. I've been looking to volunteer in something I feel passionate about but don't feel that it should cost me to give my help.

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Emma
9/1/2016 07:47:26 pm

The Breastfeeding Network training is completely free. You can look on their website to see if they are offering any training near you.

Local peer supporter training (sometimes provided through a charity) is also free. Your health visitor will know if training is happening in your area.

Obviously these options will still cost you time and travel expenses are rarely paid. Sometimes there are paid posts in peer supporter programmes but these are rare.

I hope you have some opportunity locally.

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Louise Hilborne
9/1/2016 07:51:39 pm

Thanks for the response. I'm not looking for any kind of financial compensation for travel or time given...I just want to help new mums if I can. I'll follow up the lead you provided. Thank you

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Emma-jane
10/29/2016 05:38:08 pm

What are the options if you didnt successfully breastfeed?

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Emma Pickett
10/29/2016 06:52:57 pm

Some peer support programmes only require some breastfeeding and don't specify how long.

Some of the world's best lactation consultants have never breastfed so you can also go straight to training as an IBCLC.

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Rachel
4/29/2017 04:23:23 pm

Thanks Emma this is really useful. I am thinking about doing some breastfeeding worker training and I was finding it hard to get my head around all the options. I am a member of LLL but the leader training is long and then the work will always be unpaid as far as I can see so I am attracted by NCT training. As this is something that could provide some income as well as being rewarding work. I have a 16 month old and am still happily breastfeeding.

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Laura
7/13/2017 07:39:48 pm

This is really useful information. Is a qualification from Childbirth International not recognised in the U.K.? They offer training to become a Breastfeeding Counsellor

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Emma Pickett
7/13/2017 08:13:57 pm

Completing their course is a little different as they are not UK-focused and do not require someone to have breastfed as far as I know. In the U.K., after completing their course you'd still need to find an organisation to oversee you so you'd be insured to support mothers in the U.K. The UK breastfeeding organisations require updates in training for someone to keep their status rather than it being a one-off course. My experience of someone doing the course was that they learnt a lot but then retrained with another organisation to be registered to support in the U.K. This person had breastfed which meant they could then go onto train as a recognised breastfeeding counsellor. In the U.K., the term breastfeeding counsellor means a peer supporter with a higher level of training. A peer in the sense they have also breastfed. This isn't the CBI interpretation. The CBI course gives you immediate access to training materials with no application procedure or debrief.

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Laura
7/13/2017 08:35:54 pm

Thank you Emma,

I have breast fed my daughter for 15 months and I know that most organisation she require you to have breastfed. On their website and after I e mailed them they said that with their qualification you are able to practice as a breast feeding counsellor, either one to one with mothers or run workshops antenatally etc. Would you say that this is not possible and you wouldn't be able to work as a breast feeding counsellor with their training?

Emma Pickett
7/13/2017 08:46:42 pm

The term 'breastfeeding counsellor' is not a protected term so technically they are correct. You would be able to create a private business provided you could arrange your own insurance cover. I think you might struggle to be able to support in a formal setting however and certainly in somewhere like a children's centre or local authority/ NHS setting. Perhaps you could ask them to put you in touch with some UK-based trainees so you can get a sense of how things are working for them in the UK before you make your decision?

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Lisa
11/19/2017 06:17:30 am

There is never any training available in Surrey which is where I live and local authority have cut funding for peer supporters too

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Lisa
12/2/2017 01:05:40 pm

I am a paediatric nurse and breastfeeding consultant from Germany who relocated to Scotland. I took the IBLCE exam in October and currently waiting for results. Can you advise if I can open a breastfeeding group and work self-employed as a breastfeeding consultant in UK (with and without the IBCLC title)? Or who I could ask?
My breastfeeding training was 1,5 years part-time and included more than 210 hours including writing a scientific essay on breastfeeding and preparing for the IBLCE exam.
Hoping to find some answers.
Love
Lisa

Reply
Emma Pickett
12/3/2017 08:32:47 am

Hi Lisa,

There are no restrictions on who can open a breastfeeding support group in the UK. Literally anyone can, though obviously sensible people do it under certain conditions. You would need liability insurance and that would need to cover group settings as well as individual work. A group that is accepted by local healthcare professionals as being evidence-based, reliable and trustworthy is also sensible as it means you may get referrals from them but you can also build up relationships when you need to make referrals to them e.g. tongue tie, abscess treatment, thrush treatment, use of domperidone. Many IBCLCs offer free groups alongside private work but that requires a careful ethical boundary where mothers that encounter you in a voluntary setting then shouldn't become private clients. That's easy to manage in a busy city where clients can be referred to other private IBCLCs and might not work for you. The NHS understandably can't be seen to promote private businesses so it might be trickier to build up a relationship within the NHS if all your work requires a fee for parents.

So in summary, no need to ask anyone. It doesn't sound like you would be under the auspices of any organisation other than IBCLE and you then only need to follow their code of conduct. I think it's sensible to find out what provisions there are locallly. You might even find a group you can join run by another organisation and if so, they can tell you what they then require (usually a DBS certificate as a starting point).

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Jessica
7/25/2019 04:00:41 pm

I have phoned so many times about courses and there is just never anyone to pick up the phonr

Malin
2/12/2018 07:12:11 pm

Can I ask about public liability insurance? I'm setting up a breastfeeding network in Worcester and need insurance which covers all the volunteers in the network. It's a not-for-profit support network but I don't know what my network is, as in charity etc. Or does every volunteer need to get their own insurance? At this stage it's literally a group of women. Can you help?

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Emma Pickett
2/12/2018 07:33:10 pm

Hi Malin, I’m not sure what you already know so apologies if some of this is familiar. In the U.K.,even if you are not-for-profit, you can’t call yourself a ‘charity’ unless you apply for charitable status. This is done through the charity commission. There are groups called ‘community interest companies’ or CICs which may be something you might want to look into. Yes, you’ll need a comprehensive insurance policy whichever route you take. It won’t have to name each individual but cost will depend on things like your training and supervision structure. I may not be the most helpful here as my experience is in insuring hundreds of volunteers through an established charity rather than getting started. I wonder whether it might be worth contacting the Cambridge Breastfeeding Alliance who got off the ground not very long ago. They might have some ideas to help you. How you approach things at this stage will also influence your relationships with local health professionals as referrals to your resources will be enabled by a structure that everyone can understand, transparent training and supervision and registration of volunteers and strong insurance. It’s not easy starting from scratch. None of national charities can help you? I’m assuming you’ve looked into setting up a group through them?

I realise I talked about Worcester, UK. But reading this again and your use of the American term ‘not for profit’, I wonder if you meant Worcester, USA. If so, I’m recommending the wrong Cambridge!

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Helen Walsh
4/17/2018 08:59:04 pm

After some advice please; I’m currently a breastfeeding advisor in the NHS and support mothers at level 3 breastfeeding clinics . Wanting to do more support outside of the NHS. Which way would you recommend me to go in ? Thank you!

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Emma Pickett
4/17/2018 10:14:11 pm

Hi Helen,

I hope you can have a chance to use your valuable skills.

If you have breastfeeding experience yourself, you could train as a breastfeeding counsellor and support at a group or on a helpline through one of the voluntary organisations. Not all are comfortable having volunteers who also have paid roles so you’d need to contact each separately but it’s certainly a possibility.

Without breastfeeding experience of the required length of time, it can be a bit trickier.

Feel free to email me and we can discuss your options more privately.

Reply
Claire
4/10/2020 03:18:38 pm

I know this post is quite old but I am hopeful you may still read it & respond. I am really wanting to train as a Breast feeding counsellor with the long term aim of offering private consultations & then going on to become a Doula. Due to currently living abroad I am hoping to find online training. I am working on returning to the UK so I need training that will allow me to practise in the UK. I would welcome any advise please. Thank you

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Emma Pickett
4/10/2020 03:39:56 pm

Hi Claire,

It’s great you want to work to support new families. I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to be much help. In the UK, breastfeeding counsellors are trained by UK-based charities and practice as volunteers in almost all cases. Private practice lactation support tends to be done by lactation consultants (IBCLCs) or postnatal doulas in some cases.

Could you look into training to become an IBCLC? It may be worth exploring the doula role further as some do offer breastfeeding support as part of their practice. But none of the UK-based charities I’m familiar with would train a breastfeeding counsellor who then uses that qualification for paid support.

Paid work tends to be doulas, IBCLCs and peer supporters working in local commissioned services.

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Sev
10/11/2020 11:02:29 pm

Hello Emma,
I am a nursery nurse and I work in my local NHS hospital on the neonatal unit and I have been asked my my manager if I can take the role in breastfeeding support. I have breast fed both my children and have a total of 18 years working withing maternity/neonatal wards but I really would love to do extra training or gain up to date knowledge to help me with this new role. I support mums on a daily basis with hand expressing, doing skin to skin, transition from tube feeds etc but I feel I need a "qualification" to justify my support role to some of the senior nursing/medical team who are not as pro breastfeeding as I am. Do you know of any training available in London or online courses that would have me a certificate once completed.

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Emma Pickett
10/12/2020 09:46:51 am

Hi Sev, I know this sounds like a daft question - but are the hospital not offering you any additional training? It feels like this is something they should be offering and paying for e.g. UNICEF Baby Friendly training as a minimum. Failing that, it is challenging to find in-person training at the moment. And a lot of online training is US based which may not be ideal. The ABM does offer the foundation and advanced courses online for those in paid roles but they aren't affordable for everyone: https://abm.me.uk/breastfeeding-training/. Other online options include https://www.health-e-learning.com/. Their courses are very good and you can pick and mix the modules you need. Good luck!

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Rebecca
10/29/2020 02:17:53 pm

Hi Emma,

I am a paediatric nurse and a health visitor, I was working as a bank health visitor before COVID happened. There are parts of my job that I absolutely love and promoting breastfeeding, giving advice and building up a rapport with families are just some areas. However, you may be aware that the role of the health visitor has changed significantly even since I first qualified in 2014. It has moved more towards safeguarding areas and due to the shortages of health visiting numbers, there is not the time to spend with families promoting health and breastfeeding that I was able to before. I’ve been trying to look for jobs/professions in which I can continue to do something that I love and make use of my qualifications and knowledge base.
I need work that is flexible and again, health visiting, unfortunately isn’t. It does not offer evenings or weekend work (something that I would be looking for). I have a young family and have successfully breastfed both of my children (my youngest is 20 months and I am still breastfeeding him).
I already have the knowledge to support women to effectively breastfeed, as I do this on a daily basis in my job. My question is, do you know if I would need to complete further training? I have been reading that the majority of training programmes take around 2 years and can cost from hundreds to thousands of pounds. Although I am always happy to further my knowledge, I’m not looking for a long training programme that could potentially affect our finances. Is there anything you can suggest that would match my skill set? If so, how do I go about this?
Thank you.

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Emma Pickett
10/29/2020 02:57:16 pm

Hi Rebecca,

If you are looking for flexibility, a lactation consultant in private practice is one option but I'm always upfront with people when I say it isn't always possible to have a reliable salary in private practice. In many areas, there is either not enough demand or too much competition and careful market research is needed. From my experience, most health visitors will need to do the additional 90 hours of education to qualify for the exam and to take you up to the necessary level. It may not take 2 years if you already have evidence of the 1000 hours of contact time with parents. As a nurse, you have the advantage of not needing to do the health sciences courses. However, the exam itself is not cheap, the 90 hours isn't cheap (something like 'health e-learning' is a good place to start) and the ability to earn money at the end if not guaranteed. In some areas, you may be looking at posts like an infant feeding coordinator but these don't tend to be flexible in terms of hours and will be a similar working week to health visiting.

I would suggest you look into private health visiting if you do want flexibility and to be able to use your skills. If you google private health visitor or independent health visitor, you will see some other practices. For a series of complex reasons, some families choose to go down this route and of course, you can offer additional breastfeeding support beyond what might be possible with an NHS hat on. One option is to get started in private health visiting while you train in additional lactation education. You may choose to go for IBCLC status in the future, or train to be a tongue tie practitioner. It will give you some time. Having said all that, not all areas easily support a private health visitor practice and it does come down to things like your website, your marketing and your ability to build-up a client base but I think it's worth looking into.

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Abigail
2/23/2021 09:13:56 pm

Hi Emma,

I came across your page and found it really useful, thank you. I work as a Paediatric Dietitian in a hospital setting and have recently started the 90 hours of lactation specific education to train as an IBCLC but am worried about how best to obtain the 1000 clinical hours. I'm wondering if it is acceptable to obtain them all in the same setting or whether I should try to get a mix of different settings/experiences, but am wondering how best to do this without having to commit to lots of additional training courses and training fees? This might also be a silly question but I'm wondering whether the 5 years gets 'suspended' for maternity leave or if you are expected to gather the 1000 hours over 5 years regardless?

Thanks so much,
Abigail

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Emma Pickett
3/2/2021 05:22:59 pm

That is a good question re: maternity leave. I've never heard of a suspension being possible but I think the best thing is to contact IBCLE and ask. It could an important legal issue. Having said that, IBCLE are very American influenced and a maternity leave of 2-3 months or even less is not unusual. Re: gathering the 1000 hours. I don't feel it HAS to be different settings. In my case it was hours from helpline volunteering and running face to face groups. I felt I did need that variety to gain the necessary experience as of course we're not just preparing for eligibility but preparing to support families afterwards. A lot of UK folks, train with a voluntary organisation and gather hours that way. There may also be an option to be mentored by another IBCLC. Voluntary organisations often offer cheap or even free training as you then offer hours with them. They get your hours and you get YOUR hours.

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Jodie Burgin
3/2/2021 03:34:38 pm

Hello, I know this post is quite old but thought i'd still try asking my question!

I would love to have my own private practice offering breastfeeding support to mothers, where they pay for my services to offer help and support with breastfeeding. I currently volunteer as a breastfeeding peer supporter in my local area, after I did a short training session with my local 0-19 health service. What qualifications would I need to be able to start private (and paid) breastfeeding consultations? As self-employed, not through any other company or service.

I see you can train as an IBCLC, which is a lengthly and costly process I believe? Are there any other ways to also be able to do private consultations?

Thank you so much!
Jodie x

Reply
Emma Pickett
3/2/2021 05:32:36 pm

Hi Jodie,
Yes, training as an IBCLC isn't easy or cheap but this means you are qualified to offer parents rounded care. Private breastfeeding support is a massive responsibility and you are often dealing with complex cases. You could create a website tomorrow and take payment for support. This is an unregulated area but I'm not sure you'd find it easy to get professionally insured (which is essential) and I'm also not sure it would be something you'd be comfortable with once you realize the complexity of some of the cases you are dealing with. These are sometimes the most vulnerable babies and parents. I think parents would have an expectation that at the very very least you are a breastfeeding counsellor equivalent rather than trained to peer supporter level. I think with anything less than that, you could find yourself getting in sticky situations but even then you'd still have to take great care: babies with faltering growth, anatomical abnormalities, dehydration, mums with medical complications - these are scenarios that you don't cover in peer support training nor in BFC training (which usually takes around 2 years).

Doulas are people who also offer breastfeeding care as part of their care packages. That might be something you could look into. I do think you'd need additional training of some kind.

Another option is to partner with someone else locally who is more qualified. You may be able to support alongside them. Having an IBCLC mentor may be more cost effective.

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Jodie Burgin
3/23/2021 06:40:35 pm

Hi!

Thank you so much for your reply and great info. I definitely wouldn’t start a private practice from just my peer support training as I know that’s not enough. I am still breastfeeding my 2.5 year old which has given me so much experience and knowledge of different challenges. But I still would definitely further my training if I was to offer private support.

I get what you are saying about complex cases. Would training as an IBCLC cover every single thing, like complex cases etc? In the UK what is the best way to train as an IBCLC?

I so appreciate your help and advice, thank you so much.

Jodie
xx

Emma Pickett
3/24/2021 03:46:17 pm

Hi Jodie,

Even as an IBCLC there will be areas where we need to signpost. Sometimes there are medical complications that require working with a healthcare professional or just times when we need a colleague's experience. In the UK, most people go train as a breastfeeding counsellor and then do some additional IBCLC courses. Or start out as a healthcare professional. The 'breastfeeding london' course is an option for face to face training. There is also Deborah Robertson's breastfeeding specialist course (that expects you to have more experience in breastfeeding support). To be honest, the training can also be done online. It's building up the 1000 hours of experience in support and the health sciences courses that usually take more time. There are facebook groups dedicated to this subject like 'want to be an IBCLC?'

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Sophia
8/9/2022 12:43:17 am

Hi Emma
Thanks for your article.
Pre-lockdown I trained as a breastfeeding supporter, as I wasn't able to do anything during lockdown I let my membership lapse, they have told me that if I want to join again I need to go through the training again. Basically tho I want to offer support at my local toddler group if anyone needs help, can I advertise that I am available to support mothers voluntarily eventhough I am not registered and insured by a particular body?
Thanks!

Reply
Emma Pickett
10/26/2022 10:19:34 am

Hi Sophia,
I think mums who know about breastfeeding have always spoken to people in their community. In the modern era, it does get a little bit stickier as I think there is an expectation people are overseen and have a requirement to update their knowledge. You probably need to have a chat with whoever runs the group as there may be conditions for their liability insurance. I think if you are transparent and don't describe yourself as having a qualification, it's a bit easier.

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    Emma Pickett IBCLC

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