Is there any way of finding out which of the 4 BF organisations offer support in a particular area?

[Olihan]

I'm thinking about becoming a bfc and looking through past threads about it on here, it seems that the time/commitment/qualification aspects are fairly similar so it doesn't really matter who I train with.

I was thinking that it would make sense to train with the one who didn't have anyone already trained in my area but I'm not sure how to go about finding that out.

I can't really find any information on the websites and I'm not a member of any of them yet so I need the expert advice of MNetters to point me in the right direction!

hiya,

it depends on what kind of qualification you want, a bit of paper saying uve completed a supporters course, a open uni certificate or a university diploma?

i know the bfn does a 9 week course whereas the nct course takes a few years no idea about lll.

what area you in and what organisation u thinking of???

Well, my own experiences would lead me to suggest the ABM, as I do now people who are trained with them and know how fantastic they are- and how much they need Counsellors (was going to train myself but did Uni instead)

(ABM I was told to allow up to 3 years !!!!! , although can be done quicker)

oops forgot in in scotland and there is doffent organisations in england.

i think 3 years sounds alright.

Peachy, ABM website says allow up to 2 years although you can do it in less. Pupuce did it in 10 months with them so hopefully it won't take 3 years (although with my post baby brain, that's not impossible!).

I want to do the full BFC training rather than the supporters training as I used a couple to get my own bf going and know how much they are needed.

I'm in rural Cheshire, nearer the Shropshire & Staffordshire borders than the Manchester side. We only moved here in May from Bristol so I don't know anything about bf support here.

You were closer to me before than now (Gwent) so don't know much- but TBH I would say e-mail them. At the end of the day they are very friendly and approachable. IThe ABM work on a rota so even iof they ahev got someone now, you'd still be very welcome no doubt!!

That's a good point about the rota, Peachy, hadn't thought of that. I was thinking more about a list of BFCs I was given in hospital after all the dcs were born. There were several for the NCT and LLL, and one for the ABM and BFN. I just thought it was good that all 4 were there so people could go to the one that 'fitted' them iyswim. The LLL is a bit too lentil weavery for me so I didn't worry about ringing them, I felt more comfortable with the NCT/ABM approach. So I thought it would make sense to see which one was under represented here.

whats ur post code and ill check the nct

jus tht efirst part, dont want any stalkers lol

CW6! Cheers natmatt.

Olihan, I'm on the Staffordshire/Cheshire border.

I know that in South Cheshire a couple of bfc's have retired or given up for various reasons. The ABM are active more in Staffordshire, I know of a few NCT bfc's in Stoke.

I don't think there are any LLL ers anywhere near to here at all.

Sorry, don't know any ABM it is BFN that are active.

So ABM could be a good choice for me then, islandofsodor. Do you know anything about the NCT round here?

Not very much, a friend might. She is in S Cheshire branch, I am in N Staffs. I imagine my firned might have some contact no.s as you would be the neighbouring branch to her.

Not sure about the others but LLL have details on their website where the local groups/leader are based:
www.laleche.org.uk/pages/groups/groups.htm They are defo not that lentil weavy....bit of a myth really! If you can get to your nearest group they will have a folder you can borrow which tells you about becoming an LLL leader.

TBH though I don't think it matters whether a particular organisation has someone already trained in your area - if anything having someone already trained is a bonus because you can work together running a bfing group or providing support. Much better to go with the organisation that better fits you & your bfing/parenting ideas IMO.

Islandofsodor, if it's not too much trouble could you email me any details about the S.Cheshire NCT or a number for the branch I'm likely to come under? I'm in between Nantwich and Tarporley if she knows the area. Olihan1 at hotmail dot co dot uk. Thank you.

Thanks for that link, Terramum. There seems to be a leader very close to me so I'll contact her. I did try the LLL after I had dd but didn't really feel like they were 'me'.

Hadn't thought about having someone else to work with, that's a good point.