Lets Breastfeed (private practice)

[sungirltan]

here

i'd love the mn verdict on this. especially the having no agenda but being pro circumcision.

would you pay £90 an hour to talk to her?

I jumped the gun it seems - she's everywhere now I google.

How can she be a Harley Street Consultant, and yet spout such strange breastfeeding advice?

What a quack. I am and that unqualified hacks see fit to prey on women at their most vulnerable.

www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Lets-Breastfeed/215716170965

this is her facebook page.

chunkypickle i think you may be right:-) theres just something too gushing about her testimonials....

www.fertilitysupportcompany.co.uk/GeraldineMiskin.aspx

and she's a maternity nurse - which is fione i guess but why doesn't she say that on the site unless theres anv issue??

Friends of mine have used her and as soon as I saw some of her comments and the log sheets she left them after her visit I made a firm vow never to contact her. I have to say that I did pay a private lactation consultant, a properly qualified one, to come for a home visit and it was worth every penny because she came to me 24 hours after baby was born with no stress and hassle for me to phone around and chase someone but her advice was all spot on and I managed to EBF for the first time.

Having clicked on the link, I recognised the name. Since you've all flambeed her to a crisp I feel duty bound to report a colleague due at the same time as me used her on a recommendation, and said that she was fantastic, sorted out their breastfeeding problems in one session, and while she was expensive the effect of her visit was really positive.

Could said colleague have sorted it out with a qualified lactation consultant / NCT BF counsellor? Quite possibly. But is this woman good at what she does? So I've been told, in quite glowing terms.

Longtalljosie, Her 'advice' is hit and miss, so it would depend on what problem your friend had. I did say in my post, that I didn't doubt she would help some women.

My concern is that she is in need of some overall training to even up her knowledge and help keep her updated. Not knowing that 'hind milk' doesn't really exist and the baby does not have to drill down to ity, is a very simple thing to know. I know it and I'm just a nursing mum !

Plus she is currently repeating several common breastfeeding myths, not something a real expert would do.

longtalljosie - to be fair all we have done is evaluated info posted on her site against our own factual knowledge. no one said she was rubbish at what she does, just questioned her qualifications etc. theres nothing wrong with word of mouth recommendations re services but i still think this kind of business is exploititive of new mums. i can't comment obviously on whether GM is any good since i haven't met her but i can't see her signposting to free services either.

i posted her site as i was curious to see what others thought. apart from the circumcision aspect i was open minded

Josie, no one could continue doing the sort of work she and other independent and/or unqualified and/or unsupervised practitioners do if they did not help some people some of the time...even most people most of the time. Word would get round if someone was inevitably hopeless, and her clients would cease.

It's clear from the sort of things she says and writes that her understanding of breastfeeding leaves something to be desired, and that would make me a bit wary if I was in a position to look for help.

More than that, though, is that the 'independence' she thinks is an important aspect of her work actually means 'unguided and unsupervised and with no formal qualifications' and this removes some of the consumer protection mothers, whether they are paying or not, should automatically expect.

tiktok - i really agree with what you have said. i think she has raised concerns amongst people who think bf matters and that quality of support is very important. giving incorrect advice is dangerous and working unsupervised (i mean as in not talking over her practice now and then, not lone working type of unsupervised) is unethical imo.

'breastfeeding is a science' WTF? This woman is dangerous. Can she be reported?

Look - I'm not her PR woman! and although I she was recommended to me went down the NCT route. It's just a moral thing for me, that when I see a thread like this with everyone piling in slagging someone off, and I know of something good she's done, I feel obliged to say so. Which isn't quite the same thing as being pro-professionalised breastfeeding counselling.

I don't think breastfeeding is a science either but I can't say that I think making that statement is dangerous, any more than saying it is an art. I'm encouraged by her saying that 99% of problems are about positioning but that seems to have been passed over.

The funny thing is I'm coming across as really pro-her and I'm not, really. I just don't think what she's doing is wrong or dangerous. She's expensive, and I don't agree with everything she says, but - well, everyone's experience is different.

Oh, and I think breastfeeding matters, thanks, or I wouldn't have done it for 13 months

josie, I don't think anyone is getting at you, honestly, or has said they think you don't think bf is important (apologies if I have overlooked something)

Oh alright then

www.letsbreastfeed.com/event/women-of-the-world-festival/

this is her response to various forums flaming her

What a strange message. No-one has attacked her "choice to support mums, without bias, without judgement or prejudice" - oh, unless she means her choice to support mums without recognised training or the support of a professional organisation? For the small fee of... well, it's been said enough times, hasn't it?

"My hope is that women will support each other with love and kindness, regardless of their cultural practices or their lifestyle choices and that if they don?t have a good word to say ? they will refrain from saying anything at all."

I would like to retain my right to have an opinion, please.

'I would like to retain my right to have an opinion, please.'

absobloomin - lutely!!!

I think she's onto a great thing. How many people can charge 90 pounds/hour for something they have no qualifications in? I think we could all take lessons from her on how to make a quick buck

Josie - I would be surprised if she hadn't help some mums successfully - she wouldn't last very long if she didn't!
But she is similar to Claire BuyMy-Book, in that she has helped some women but still perpetuates outdated and inappropriate advice.

Like a few other posters on this thread (waves to SPB and Indith) I am a peer supporter, and I am obliged to offer advice in a very defined way and under supervision from a breastfeeding counsellor.

And BFCs such as TikTok are also required to update their knowledge regularly.

The Bfing counselling service where I live has recently had a UNICEF inspection in order to maintain Baby Friendly Status - it is a very very intensive process involving interviewing all the HVs and community MWs in the area to check their BFing knowledge. Happily they passed with an almost 100% score. I bet this lady hasn't had anything like this.

Sorry if you felt a bit got at though!

Oh dear....the message on her website shows she really does not understand the feelings of misgiving expressed (I am assuming she means the people posting on this board).

Geraldine, if you are reading this, I think you are right to ignore anyone who seems to you insulting or belittling, or who criticises the women who seek your help.

But that's not why posters here are uncomfortable about you and your work - you must realise this if you have read the board :(