Thinking of becoming a breastfeeding counsellor...

[crazymother]

(sorry if this posing is in the wrong place)

with the Association of Breasfeeding Mothers as this seems to fit in better with my current lifestyle although I would be interested in any responses from those who are counsellors with the NCT

Has anyone completed this training? Is it very intensive- how long will it take each week? How long will it take to complete overall?

Also, how many hrs do you volunteer for afterwards?

Also, I'm concerend that I may not be 'hard-core' enough, for want of a better expression.

I'm currently bf dc4 who is 7 months old and he is the furthest I've got.

Dc1 had no more than 4 days.

Dc2 was fed for 5 mo (before I was advised by the hv that as her weight gain wasn't good I should ff as it was very difficult to bf if a mother had other children !!and I was that disillusioned and worried by this point that I sucuumbed to ff)

Dc3 was fed for 10 wks but had horrendous PND and my husband insisited that I needed to ff so that I could get some rest (was having twice nightly panic attacks and was worn out. I held out for 2 wks before I couldn't cope anymore.

DC4 has been exclusively bf and I am just starting to wean.

I am just wondering if an organisation will think that I am not committed enough. I do think bf if terribly important and wish that I had had more support, hence my desire to help others. Family and HV were very unsupportive of my efforts.

What does anyone else think and sorry for my ramble!!

hi, i am a trainee BFC with the ABM at the moment. i am only on module 2 and they expect the whole course to be completed in 2 years. it can take alot of time as you have to research your answers yourselves and you need to buy your own books etc.

firts of all you have to complete the mother supporter module, which the criteria for doing that being that you have BF at least one child for at least 6 months, you need a reference aswell, my reference was a midwife whom i help at a BF group.

after you have passed the mother supporter module you can apply to continue and train to be a BFC and when a vacancy comes up they will take you on (they on take on a set number of trainees per month).

i thoroughly enjoy doing my breastfeeding support but i am very pro breastfeeding. once you have completed the course you have to volunteer on the helpline for 2 years afterwards.

i would suggest you ring the training coordinators, the numbers or email address are on the ABM website and have a chat with them, they are very helpful. HTH

I'm no expert but I'd have thought it would be a bonus that you've had some struggles with BF and realise it can be a far from easy ride. Good luck!