A question about YOUR LC's?

CircleInTheSea · October 2011

Did your insurance company pay for them or was it an out of pocket expense for you?

Did you seek them out or were you referred?

Was your LC a hospital employee or Private Practice?

Did you feel like you 'needed' the LC or was it a waste of time and why?

I'm curious because I've been interested in becoming a Lactation Consultant for years. My hang-ups have been that I don't possess a nursing degree and honestly have ZERO interest in becoming an RN (it's an amazing job, just not one I'm interested in doing...). I do have a bachelors degree, am considering going for a Masters in Public Health since Public Education is a goal, but I really just want to help regular women have a great breastfeeding relationship and be able to help those that do have issues, especially since there are very few LC's in my area and from what I can find, no IBCLC's at all within a three hour distance. I would just become a LLL leader, but honestly, after January I will have three children and I am the breadwinner for my family....so I have to stay in a career where money will be made, iykwim.

Thanks for answering my questions!

mamaloves · October 2011

I, personally, would rather speak to a LC who is an experienced breastfeeder over an RN. So hopefully the RN license won't hold you back.

I EBF for 15 months and it was a wonderful experience. However, the first 3 months were very difficult and I was grateful to have LC to turn to. I had one come to my room in the hospital. My hospital had a lactation resource center available to call 7 days per week and to visit. I used them but wasn't very impressed. My best experience was via telephone with the Le Leche League. I found my local Le Leche consultant on the internet and called her. She helped me through my baby's "nursing strike."

None of this was an out-of-pocket cost. I did not seek out the LC in the hospital (they automatically visited all breastfeeding moms), but once I left the hospital I sought them out.

My hospital LC was an employee of the hospital, I'm pretty sure the Le Leche League are volunteers but I'm not not positive about that.

The hospital LC was very helpful in the hospital, the hospital lactation resource center I called was a waste of time, the Le Leche League was very helpful.

Meg4583 · October 2011

I didn't even check to see if my ins co paid, but they suck so I doubt it.

I asked for help in the hospital and that lady was awful. Basically told me pain was normal and it'd go away soon. She spent 10 minutes with me.. not enough. Yes I was BF'ing my LO b/c he needed to it--but the pain was excruciating.

6 days into it and me thinking I was going to die I sought out a LC. I have no clue what her credentials were but I used the LC who heads a well known woman's store in my area.

She saved me. So yes, she was a necessity and she was worth it. I paid 150$ for the consult and I would have paid double.

Within 5 minutes of 1: fixing our bad latch and 2: diagnosing a bubble palate which is why I showed no OUTWARD signs of a bad latch, I had a glimmer of hope. It was rough though for 6 weeks. I was in pain from the damage he did those first 6 days. But she got me through it. Follow up phone calls, a frantic visit 2 days later with me crying b/c I couldn't replicate what she taught me, another follow up visit scheduled, but never needed b/c we "got" it.

Without her I honestly think I would have quit BF'ing. My kid was putting me in a vice each time he ate-- and he also has an agressive suck.. no nice little start out nice sucking.. he goes right into the crazy deep sucking.

I couldn't face forward in the shower, use a towel to dry off my chest or wear an actual bra for those 6-8 weeks, the pain was that severe. I did pump once a day and bottle feed for a break, but now at 8 months I'd rather nurse then pump

So I don't know what to tell you about getting your cert, but that was my experience.

mrambo3 · October 2011

The hospital that I gave birth at has a LC visit you every day you're in the hospital. The first two days were a waste of my time because I had no idea what I was doing and they didn't really know how to approach me. By the third day I was so frustrated and helpless. THe LC that visited me on that day was a complete lifesaver and I owe her so much for helping me. She stayed with me for almost 2 hours and we talked over everything. She suggested that I come back and see a LC a few days after I was released just to make sure everything was going well. I am so so happy I did because it eased my mind. Soooo...to answer your questions.

Did your insurance company pay for them or was it an out of pocket expense for you? I was just checking my hospital bill and it looks like my insurance covered a portion of the bill. It was $75 and I owe $48.

Did you seek them out or were you referred? THe LC that visited me in the hospital made the appointment for me and it was with another LC that visited that same hospital.

Was your LC a hospital employee or Private Practice? I think she was an employee of the hospital but she also worked at other hospitals in the area so maybe she was hired through a contractor? I don't know how that works.

Did you feel like you 'needed' the LC or was it a waste of time and why? I don't think it really "needed" a LC but for an ease of mind, I scheduled the appointment and am so glad I did. I just wanted to make sure I (we) were nursing correctly and if he was getting enough when he ate.

TheLastCall · October 2011

CircleInTheSea:
Did your insurance company pay for them or was it an out of pocket expense for you?
There was no cost in my case, but I have Kaiser, so I saw the Kaiser LC
Did you seek them out or were you referred?
They came to me in the hospital and then I contacted them when I became interested in relactation
Was your LC a hospital employee or Private Practice?
A health plan employee
Did you feel like you 'needed' the LC or was it a waste of time and why?
In the hospital, I saw a different one every day and I was completely confused because the techniques that they taught were so different. Because I was so confused and frustrated it really was a waste of time. Once I started with relactation, I was given an appointment with one and chose to stay with he. Now that I was able to get effective help, I feel as if it was more than worth my time driving an hour each time to see her.

I'm actually working on going to get my LC certification as well! You might want to check out https://americas.iblce.org/ and get an idea of it's something you can fit into your life.

jcsumm0 · October 2011

1. OOP

2. Both--sought them out when DD was in the NICU, and was referred by my baby's doc later.

3. Both--saw some in the hospital, then saw one who is sort of private practice--she's part of a local nonprofit that also does birthing classes, mom/baby yoga, etc. https://bloomingtonbirth.org/

4. The ones in the hospital weren't that helpful, but the IBCLC I saw later was amazing--I don't think we'd still be BFing w/o her.

I have thought about becoming IBCLC also because of the amazing help I got from mine!

madelinemurski606 · October 2011

1. OOP

2. I had to find my own LC.

3. She was a private practice kind of woman.

4. She was too late to save our BFing experience. Not her fault I was just ignorant and DD was tongue tied for too long.

I have been interested in becoming an IBCLC, but I don't meet the basic requirement of successfully breastfeeding.

meltoine · October 2011

I saw two LCs when DS was tiny.

For the first, she was an NP at our pedi's practice and also an IBCLC, so our insurance paid because we saw her as part of a regular well-baby visit. We sought her out because I was too engorged for DS to latch. I definitely needed her. She gave me a nipple shield (which I had barely heard of before) and we've been going like gangbusters ever since.

The second is my aunt. She's an RN with another pedi practice. When we first started having problems I called her (it was 6am and we already had a pedi appt. for 9am) and she told us to come over to her office after the pedi. At the time, we didn't know that our pedi had a IBCLC on staff and she thought he might suggest we supplement. We did go see her after the first IBCLC gave us the shield and she confirmed that that what the right thing to do and checked our latch again.

I've looked into becoming an IBCLC too, for the same reasons as you. But, my background is social science so I would need to take a TON of pre-reqs before I could even begin taking the IBCLC classes. With our lifestyle right now (military, moving every year or so for the past and next few years) and the fact that we want our Los relatively close in age (probably TTC next fall) it's just not feasible right now. Maybe when we're done having kids and the youngest is in school.

CircleInTheSea · November 2011

madelinemurski606:
I have been interested in becoming an IBCLC, but I don't meet the basic requirement of successfully breastfeeding.

I may be wrong, but I don't think you have to have had a successful bfing relationship to qualify as an IBCLC. I DO think that it's still a LLL Leader qualification, however (and one of the pathways to becoming an IBCLC is through LLL experience....). Thank you ladies for answering my questions. I will probably start out with a basic IBCLE accredited course and go from there. There are zero IBCLC's in my area to shadow however, and I really don't know that I can get my hours in except for LLL leadership (which I'm not opposed to...). I can always just take the courses and become a regular LC with a private practice. Perhaps this will be enough...(I doubt that it will be however, I'm an overachieving kind of girl...). The other thought is to pursue a Masters in Public Health and education with an emphasis on Family Health (and therefore lactation...). Still considering options and I'm grateful for the feedback

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