Celebrating International Board Certified Lactation Consultants Day

Today, March 5th, is International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) Day. This is a day that recognizes and celebrates the work, dedication, knowledge, and advocacy that IBCLCs bring to the birthing and medical community through their work and commitment to birthing, lactation, and postpartum care.

Here at NNCC, we have a history of having IBCLCs on our staff. Today, we have a total of 11 consultants on our team in nursing and supervisory roles. While ICBLCs can be found in health centers, offices, birth centers, and support groups, at NNCC, our IBCLCs use their expertise during home visits and at the LATCH Cafe. Katy Baker-Cohen, Nurse-Family Partnership Nurse Home Visitor and Lead Lactation Specialist, shared some insight into her role as an IBCLC and how it impacts her job.

What does it take to become an IBCLC, and how did you get into it?

There are three pathways you can take to become an IBCLC. At NNCC, most people get their required hours through the work that we do as nurse home visitors as well as mentorships with other IBCLCs already within NNCC. For myself, one of my supervisors was an IBCLC. So while I can’t pinpoint when I learned about being a lactation consultant specifically, I knew that my supervisor was doing a lot of work in lactation. I jumped at the chance to participate in it and learn more, because I knew that I wanted to delve into the way I could support initial bonding, nutrition, and support for a new parent. I was excited to grow in my nursing and professional career.

What skills as an IBCLC do you use as a nurse home visitor for NFP?

NFP nurses are partnered with a client from 28 weeks pregnant to 2 years of age. As part of this program, these nurses walk with their families through the different stages of their child’s life. Naturally, lactation is a part of that. As an IBCLC, I am trained to be supportive of baby feeding in all aspects, whether it’s breast/chestfeeding or formula feeding. I work hard to keep them safe. And then I walk them through introducing solids and weaning - covering everything about baby feeding. It is really helpful to have this training on the biological and developmental feeding support.

But even larger than myself, it is helpful to have other IBCLCs on staff. We started an in-house lactation support for nurses so that we can support the different problems that arise with any of their clients. Having this robust IBCLC staff allows us to do things like LATCH Cafe and create a highly informed space for people to learn about lactation from people who have this additional knowledge.

What do you hope for the future with IBCLC?

I would love to continue to see lactation consultants as a valued part of the healthcare system. In the medical field, there are special needs in all areas, but there is a lack of lactation training in general. We would like to be looked at as the experts of lactation, but overall, there should also be more training in the medical field. 

Also, I would love for people in general to recognize the importance of bonding and physical development through feeding. Feeding is such a biologically important thing that touches on so many development steps that a baby needs to go through. Being a support to home visiting programs, like NNCC, helps us meet the goal of our programs.