by KungFuFtr

So...
I was looking online for nursing jobs (only 4 weeks left woo-hoo!).
I saw a position for a lactation consultant listed. I didn't realize they made so much...

Regardless
Have you ever seen a male Lactation Consultant?

Re: Lactation Consultant

Originally Posted by KungFuFtr

So...
I was looking online for nursing jobs (only 4 weeks left woo-hoo!).
I saw a position for a lactation consultant listed. I didn't realize they made so much...

Regardless
Have you ever seen a male Lactation Consultant?

Kung, i see that no one has answered your question, so let me be the first:
He!! no, i haven't.
(do they make a lot?)

Re: Lactation Consultant

Originally Posted by KungFuFtr

So...
I was looking online for nursing jobs (only 4 weeks left woo-hoo!).
I saw a position for a lactation consultant listed. I didn't realize they made so much...

Regardless
Have you ever seen a male Lactation Consultant?

You would probably be very hard pressed to find one, if one exists at all.

Being a lactation consultant is a very intimate thing..you have to actually work with a woman's breast to guide it into the mouth of an infant, etc. What a male lactation consultant would get, is very much the same thing that many male-RN-delivery nurses sometimes get, "Can you please get me a female".

I understand it's medical, and not sexual, but there is too much touching/manipulation to where if I was a guy, I wouldn't want to go through 4,000 clinical hours of training to find out I can't find a job doing it.

Re: Lactation Consultant

I am a NICU RN, and do my fair share of breastfeeding education. I would agree that the "hands on" aspect of it is VERY hard to manage as a male. There is only so much assistance you can give without physically grabbing a breast to demonstrate. LOL.

Re: Lactation Consultant

And on the flipside of that, I as a woman (mother/baby nurse) have never had a woman say no when I ask if I can touch their breast to demostrate something. I always ask first, though. I can imagine some women having issue with a man touching their boob.

Having said that, my supervisor's husband is a Labor/delivery/postpartum nurse at a different hospital. His patients love him, and very very rarely has he had anyone turn him away. He does everything I would do.

There are male midwives too. I personally would welcome more men into women's health nursing.

Sorry for peeking in here.

Re: Lactation Consultant

No offense, but I'd be very uncomfortable with a male. I'd decline. Sorry.
Signed, Miss Modest

Re: Lactation Consultant

Hell no, I've never seen it!

It isn't impossible. I remember old Rabbi Schwartz from the Geula section of Jerusalem used to advise new mothers about nursing. He had circumcised most of their sons, and so there was a sort of unique bond already. And he never actually observed them bare-breasted. The man was amazing though, in what he knew about neonatology and peds.

Nonetheless, I think this is one of those few areas where if you, the nurse, can share your experiences with a patient it could really help. You might get stuck on that point...

Re: Lactation Consultant

I would take good bfing help wherever I could get it, male or female. I do realize I am not the norm, though.

Re: Lactation Consultant

For what its worth, I just completed a stint with the LC as part of my Maternity Rotation - she had me do all the pt teaching including showing the moms how to hold their breast and how to place the nipple for good latch. I didn't have a single problem or anyone ask for a female. The LC commented on how professional I was and that I spoke directly and clearly to the mom. I also tried to incorporate the dads so they saw what was happening and understood the importance of positioning.

This reminds me of all the concerns guys have about caring for females in general - just do it and be professional. I see each pt as a pt - period. I am there to solve a problem/provide care/ease suffering/teach.....I've never had a problem.

Re: Lactation Consultant

"Excuse me ma'am let me demonstrate how to latch-on"...LOL

Funny you should mention this, couple of my buddies and I at work always tease about that "lactation consultant" job listing when our ED is going crazy.