A big welcome to all the newly graduated IBCLCs.
This edition we're devoting to the new IBCLCs who are starting out on an exciting and challenging career.
What's in this edition?
- The most common presenting problem you'll see.
- Positioning and Latch: the best online course to solve/prevent the most common problem!
- Book Review: Case Studies in Breastfeeding
- Meet the new faculty at Health e-Learning
- Come to BFI Conference Glascow, Scotland to meet us.
Common breastfeeding problems
What will our new IBCLCs see most of in their practice? A quick survey of my collegues reveals that the most common presenting problem mothers have is damaged or painful nipples. Fortunately, most of the time it is also the easiest problem to fix. 2/3 of mothers who wean before 6 weeks tell us that it was because of nipple pain. Being able to prevent this condition or treat it quickly can make a significant difference to the number of babies who continue to be breastfed.What causes nipple damage?
- Technique issues:
- poorly latched baby
- baby with incorrect sucking technique
- incorrect use of lactation aids, eg. a breast pump, nipple shields, breast shells, etc.
- Maternal anatomy issues:
- non-protractile nipples - not always resulting in nipple pain/damage
- firm, poorly-compressible breast tissue
- Infant anatomy issues:
- high arched palate or a bubble palate
- short lingual frenulum (ankyloglossia, tongue tie)
- Infections
- fungal overgrowth, eg. candidiasis
- bacterial infections, eg. staph aureus
- viral infections, eg. herpes simplex
- Dermatological conditions of the nipple
- dermatitis (atopic and contact)
- psoriasis, and other skin conditions
- Neurovascular conditions
- vasospasm of the nipple
- Raynaud's phenomenon
- nerve response to damaged nipples
Righard (1998) noted in a cohort of women presenting with breastfeeding problems that 94% of the babies had a "superficial, nipple-sucking" technique. These mothers' major complaints were a crying baby and sore nipples. 10% of a matched group of mothers who didn't have breastfeeding problems had babies who exhibited an incorrect sucking technique.So new IBCLCs ... if you can get those babies positioned well, latched well and sucking well you're going to prevent the biggest cause of breastfeeding problems. Position and Latch: a great ONLINE course
Now I know that all the new IBCLCs feel they are just saturated with knowledge right now - but for those who've discovered they just can't learn enough in this field, or the more experienced IBCLC wanting to confirm the theory behind their practice (and gain some CERPs for recertification!), or for next year's prospective IBCLC, then you can't do better than enroll into BE03: Positioning and Latch of the Baby to the Breast. This is a great ONLINE course offered by Health e-Learning that has received lots of acclaim. If you'd like to enroll go to http://www.health-e-learning.com where you'll find the information about it, the Enrollment Center for online enrollment, and you'll receive your Username and Password from the course administrator within the next 24 hours ... how easy can it be to get the highest quality education just when you want it? Don't forget to tell your nurse colleagues that they can get CEUs too! Book Review
The book-of-the-month this month is a little gem for all our new IBCLCs, and those studying to become one. It's Case Studies in Breastfeeding, by Cadwell K and Turner-Maffei C. 2004; published by Jones and Bartlett.
Cadwell et al have defined the process and procedures of a lactation consultation very clearly. To move from "novice to expert" requires guidance. Our new IBCLCs have the knowledge, but how to structure the consultation process to efficiently gather the information needed to formulate a plan is the challenge. Experts move seamlessly from 'Level' to 'Level', and this book demonstrates how novices can too. Cadwell et al have refined the process into eight Levels then, using case studies discussed in a narrative, or 'story-telling' format, we are guided through the application of each of the Levels of a consultation. The authors discuss the value of story-telling: allowing the mother to tell her story, and in this book, the authors tell their story. This is a very enjoyable method to learn these processes ... there are many fascinating case studies presented that keep the reader actively involved thinking about what they would do, questions they would ask, searching their knowledge to fit the information gathered into a possible cause, and wanting to read on to find out what happens next - in true story-telling form. A reservation I have is that a large number of the cases presented would be rarely encountered and could cause the new IBCLC anxiety, fearing they wouldn't have been skilled enough to help that mother. There's a lot to be said for using common situations. Also, there is frequent mention of the authors' clinic and their classes ... this blatant commercialism spoils a great text. Nevertheless I do highly recommend this 190-page softcover book. If you haven't received a gift for achieving your IBCLC credential yet, then I suggest you tell your nearest and dearest that this is what you want, or buy it for yourself - you deserve a treat! It will enhance your skills. Available from:
Amazon
Capers Bookstore
Birth International Meet our new Faculty We welcome Sue Cox and Trudi Szallasi to the Health e-Learning faculty.
Sue Cox you will all know as being one of the original IBCLCs way back then (will it be 20 years next year??), a researcher, an author of two books 'Breastfeeding. I can do that' and 'Breastfeeding With Confidence', and most recently the President-elect of ILCA. As well as doing all that, and working at her local hospital, and having a private LC practice, and being a volunteer breastfeeding counselor, Sue is a Masters student.
While Trudi Szallasi's history in lactation may not be so long, it too has been very illustrious. Trudi has been President of the Qld Branch of the Australian Breastfeeding Association, and on the national Board of ABA and continues to hold active positions within ABA. When Trudi qualified as an IBCLC it was with the highest score for that year (which has yet to be beaten!). Health e-Learning is indeed honored to have Sue and Trudi as Facilitators for our online courses, and are delighted to be able to share their expertise, skills and knowledge with our students from all over the world.
When you enroll into Health e-Learning courses you will be gaining the benefit of nearly 40 years of combined experience of IBCLCs. If you've enjoyed this edition of Health e-Learning Newsletter please forward it to your colleagues ... they'll see where they too can subscribe.
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Denise Fisher
Health e-Learning: professional development education online for health professionals.
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Health e-Learning Newsletter