Question about Le Leche Leauge

lupineaura · September 2012

Is it typical for a LLL leader to charge for a private meeting to help with BF problems?

tokenhoser · September 2012

No, La Leche should never charge for their help. They are not even supposed to demand that you be a member. That said, they don't always meet with you in person; in my city most of the help is by phone, email, or at meetings. If you need in-person help they generally refer to a LC as the leaders are people with jobs and lives and don't have time to drive all over town.

pepomntpat · September 2012

NO! LLL leaders are all volunteers.

lupineaura · September 2012

Maybe I should give some details-

I was interested in LLL before I gave birth and joined the FB group for my local chapter. They have one meeting a month, but for some reason, did not have one in September (I had my daughter in late August). I am having some latch issues so I contacted the leader. She gave me some advice over the phone, but told me that since she is a lactation consultant by trade, she needs to charge if she comes to my house to meet in person. She said there is no charge for help at a meeting, but as I said, there is no meeting in September and I'm not sure I want to wait until October for help. She indicated she could hook me up with another LLL leader who might be able to help me for free.

I tried her advice and got some improvement, but would still like help. I contacted her to see how much it would be for her to meet me, and it's $200. We could PROBABLY afford it, but it would be a stretch right now. I asked her about introducing me to a different leader, and she suggested I contact a different chapter and try to go to one of their meetings.

I'm torn. I could contact a leader from a different chapter, but now I'm kind of embarrassed to ask for free help. The other chapter has a meeting in like three weeks; again, I'm not sure I want to wait that long.

I really thought LLL would be a way to get some assistance without paying for a private LC meeting. My issues aren't severe- minor pain/soreness associated with difficulty latching on one side. I also wanted to go to a LLL meeting to meet some other moms, but now I'm a bit embarrassed to go to the local chapter since the leader seemed a bit annoyed with me.

Thoughts? There is a breastfeeding support group at my hospital but it's not a place you can get 1:1 latch help.

tokenhoser · September 2012

My thoughts are that she has blurred lines because one part of her life is a volunteer gig and another part is paid employment, and both serve the same people. None of the LLL leaders here are paid LC, so there isn't that confusion.

I would contact the other chapter and not be one smidge embarrassed. $200 is steep for a minor problem. I would also look at hospital-based bf-ing support groups (as those do generally have a LC at them, and are free). If it's just small things, you probably don't need an hour of 1:1 time - just having a conversation at the group may be helpful.

kami1977 · September 2012

My doula is a LLL leader and an IBLC. I believe if she takes calls as a leader she is not allowed to profit from the calls so she either refers out to another LC or if she does a home visit she doesn't charge. She doesn't even bring up she's a doula during meetings even if someone asks for doula recommendations. I'm pretty sure what that leader is doing is a violation of LLL policy, for exactly the reason of making people feel uncomfortable going to meetings if they choose not to use her services. LLL strives to be inclusive, so the chapters can't even require you become a member to attend meetings. That Leader's actions aren't sitting right with me.

FYI not all leaders will do home visits, it is up to the Leader's discretion. Also they'll provide support such as helping with latching, but won't diagnose issues like tongue tie since they aren't professionals.

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