Finding a lactation consultant

[philbee]

How do I find a lactation consultant? DD is 5 wks and I've had thrush and I think I've now got mastitis. I'm fed up and I need help and there doesn't seem to be any NHS support available beyond just saying I should go to a bf group. All advice welcome!

My husband found one for me via the LaLeche League, who gave him numbers for a couple of people local to us.

LLL- 0845 120 2918 (breast feeding helpline)

Good luck - I found it to be money well spent, because I would have spent loads more on formula by now!

Second contacting LLL. They are awesome.

Plenty of breastfeeding counsellors around in the UK (contact them via helplines - see MN bf pages). Not many lactation consultants (and most of them private). LLL are breastfeeding counsellors (some might be lactation consultants as well, though).

Bfcs cannot help with medical stuff though they will recognise thrush/mastitis and signpost you for further help as well as knowing what self-help you can do. Hope it works out.

Meant to add - bfcs are volunteers and free :)

I was once getting desperate for help, the list of breast feeding groups I got at the hospital was totally out of date and I frequently found groups cancelled or was given wrong information. I called a private lactation consultant but even in central London couldn't find one to visit (or even return my calls in some cases)! In the end I called NCT and breastfeeding network help lines, and both posted a message to their colleagues saying I really needed a one-to-one visit and could anyone help. Very soon a lovely NCT peer supporter visited on a bicycle and was excellent-plus put me in touch with an LC at a private b/f support group to get my baby checked for TT. I will be eternally grateful to her! So...long story short, it is hard to find an LC and will probably cost you £200/£300. Call the helplines and tell them you really feel you need help and there is a good chance they will put you in touch with a b/f councillor or peer supporter who will help you, and follow up, and know where to find further help if needed.

A bit more information that occurred to me reading the responses,

We're in London, which may have made a difference, but paid £110, for board certified LC to come to us, she came the same day, and spent an hour and a half with us.

I've seen her number in the local NCT magazine too, so I think there's some cross over!

If you have mastitis (rather than a blocked duct) then you are likely to need ABs.

If you're going to get an LC, please make sure it's an IBCLC, at least. Anyone can hang up a shingle as an LC, with no supervision or support.

Whereas, if you use a BFC from any of the four organisations providing BF support in the UK (BfN, LLL, ABM, NCT), a) it will be free b) the person you see will be well supervised and supported and c) were anything to go wrong, you would have a way to complain.

If you are happy to say what part of the country you are in, one of us may be able to point you in the right direction of local support. This website often has good information on drop ins.

national Breast feeeding helpline was good. They would be able to put you in contacr with someone.

Google baby cafe also
The one I go to is run by a lactation consultant (I think) and a maternity support worker, they're both fab, there are also trained peer supporters there
Hope you get sorted? Where abouts are you?

Thank you all! There is a group led by bf counsellors (BfN and NCT I think) tomorrow, and a LLL one on Friday, so I'll go to those and see if I can get some advice before looking for a LC. twitchy, that's good advice, thank you. I am a bit hmm about HVs due to bad experiences but will call them to find out about NHS referral if no advice from groups. I'm in SE London.

It's not a particular problem, just the thrush, now blocked duct apparently (not mastitis, I saw the GP), DD has developed a clicky / noisy latch which I find worrying, although another thread was reassuring about it. I just feel like it's all going wrong, and I've spent the first few weeks in pain (not horrible pain, admittedly), and I just want to make sure that someone who knows what they're doing has had a proper look in case I'm doing something which is causing all this stuff. The GP said it was jut unlucky, thrush and blocked duct can happen by chance, but I feel worried about it.

Hi philbee, I'm not sure if she would cover your area, but we saw a lovely lactation consultant called Mary Griffiths, she came to our house (we're in Surrey). Dd2 was 9 weeks old at the time, and despite having bf dd1 for 14 months, I knew things just weren't right second time around. She was clicking when feeding, and just never seemed satisfied after a feed. This lady diagnosed tongue tie, and is qualified to snip it in your home if you like. She was in no way pushy, and spent a long time showing me how to latch her on better, and was quite happy to let us think about what to do about the tongue tie, but I was so glad we opted to have it snipped straight away, as the feeding improved immediately, and we haven't had any problems since (she's 10 months now & still bf).

Sounds like you need someone who is qualified to check for tongue tie. If the free resources cant offer this, I thoroughly recommend Geraldine Miskin, she'll come to your house, but not cheap so try the free ones first!

I went to the bf group today and a great counsellor identified tongue tie (dead on, minipie) and that DD has a high palate, which also causes feeding problems. So I should have a referral to have the tongue tie clipped soon and I hope that will improve things. It's a big relief, just feel so grrr that out of three mws and three GP visits no one could work it out sooner. Plus the GP only gave me thrush cream and not DD so it's basically guaranteed to come back as she's not been treated.

wouldbe, thank you. I hope to go to a LLL meeting soon - I've contacted the leader and she's told me when the next one is.

glad you've had it found - My DD also had TT and a high palate and the revision made a huge difference (took a couple of weeks to have full effect though). still not perfect due to the high palate but so so much better.