Anyone have dedicated NI lactation consultants?

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Specializes in NICU, adult med-tele.

Does anyone have one? I have recently decided to pursue IBCLC. I'm super excited!:yeah:

I'd love to concentrate my work in the NICU. Perhaps even do some research in that area as well.

Does anyone have a dedicated lactation consultant for the NICU? have you found it has helped with breastfeeding success in the NICU?

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Specializes in NICU.

My unit has 9 boob ladies. I love them but I loathe them. feel like they brainwash our moms and make them think formula is evil and then the moms who really have NO SUPPLY end up feeling all guilty. I love them bc they help us A LOT when it comes to getting moms to actually breast feed and they really support moms...but they could ease up a little bit on the pressure of having moms pump.

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Specializes in NICU, adult med-tele.

I just found this! A great study from Chop~

Health & Nutrition News - Natural Healthcare Canada

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Specializes in NICU, adult med-tele.

And holy cow at 9 LC's. Are they all IBCLC? how many beds do you have?

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Specializes in NICU Level III.

We have 2 boob ladies (and a huge unit..9...geez!). I never see them on nights but they have a rep for being pushy.

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I wish! We see one on the unit once in a blue moon. We have to beg them to come to a pts bedside.

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Specializes in NICU.

We have somewhere between 35-50 babies at any given time. They are all trained but I don't know if they are all certified.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

We have dedicated NICU LCs as well. I'm not entirely sure how many, and I've never seen one in there at night, but I know they exist.

It is nice, because breastfeeding NICU babies, especially long-term, presents a far different set of challenges than breastfeeding a well newborn. ETA - but I'm also with NICU_babyRN...some of our LCs are a little heavy-handed with our moms too, pressuring them to pump when they can't/don't want to (which is rare, but it happens).

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Specializes in NICU.

We have at least 2 lactation consultants at our hospital which has a very large NICU. Unfortunately they serve all the mothers (OB and NICU) so they are very busy. They also only work weekdays and by appointment so sometimes it is difficult for some mothers to meet them. They are very nice and passionate about their practice and give their numbers to the moms if they have any questions later. It would be nice to have an around the clock ni lactation consultant tho.

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Hey There UT, I am also a NICU RN who is studying to sit for the IBCLE. I am excited and looking forward to starting a private practice. Good luck with your exam!

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