I live in Leicester and work in Leicester, Leicestershire and Leicestershire borders. I trained as a Nurse and finished my training in 1996 after that I worked as a Staff Nurse on surgical wards within the NHS until 2004, looking after post operative patients and patients admitted from Accident and Emergency. I then became a breastfeeding counselor with La Leche League in 2005, running workshops and helping mums on a one to one basis. In 2013 I passed my exam and am an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). I have attended many conferences with a focus on breastfeeding, have trained other breastfeeding counsellors and have recently trained a cohort of breastfeeding peer supporters within Leicestershire and continue to mentor them. I recertified as an IBCLC in 2018.
I attend the Infant Feeding Network in University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL). I also sat on the Lactation Consultants of Great Britain Committee and helped organise the 2016 conference and study days. I now continue to help LCGB out with some of the work they do.
I enjoy helping all mothers on their breastfeeding journey and realise the importance of ongoing support. I believe in empowering a mother to find her own solutions by offering suggestions and help.
I think it useful that you know what is entailed in becoming an IBCLC. Firstly you need 1000 clinical hours helping breastfeeding mothers. You have to prove to the exam board you have 90 hours of advanced lactation support. To qualify you then need to take a 4 hour exam in breastfeeding. To maintain your qualification over 5 years you need to attend 70 hours worth of study days, usually in the form of conferences or in running study days yourself. You recertify every 5 years by presenting the study certificates. Every 10 years on top of this you redo the exam. Inherent in this is cost, I need to pay for all study days my insurance and obvious costs like leaflets and petrol.