Traing to become a breastfeeding counsellor/supporter?

[mamasunshine]

Probably the wrong place to post this? But was hoping someone who has already trained as a breastfeeding support worker could advise me. Basically I don't know which organisation to go to for training, e.g. Le Leche League? Many Thanks.

Depends who is active in your area. La Leche used to have a contract in our city to train NHS peer supporters but I believe recently NCT have taken that over. There are no LL groups here (I am a member) but they are very active in a nearby county. You could try their national enquiry numbers 0844 243 6000 (NCT) and 0845 456 1855 (LL). AFAIK they have slightly different approaches so if you have a choice you might like to think about that. I think they are both helping bf mums who want/need help so either option is good. Alternatively, a bf friendly midwife or HV might be able to advise. Our local BFC is also a peer supporter trainer.

Training to be a LL Leader takes about a year and an NCT BFC three years so it is a much bigger committment compared to an 8 week course for peer support training. The latter is a good way to find out whether it is the right sort of thing for you to do.

Good luck

I'd ring them all (abm, LLL, BfN and NCT) and find out how the course works, how long it takes, what you get at the end of it, potential for career progression, how the course is paid for etc.

NCT, for instance, is a DipHE and can lead onto a BA if you ever want it to.

Thank you both!

I trained with the BfN - 12 week course but meant that you couldn't be a phone/home supporter; only giving support within a group role. You have to have monthly supervision sessoin to remain a member.
You could also do the bf supporter course - it takes longer but would be more worthwhile in the long run as it means you can be on the helpline.
From a paid point of view - if you want towards a paid job, then I defintately recommend a more detailed course such as the diploma. It seems to me that the NCT have pretty much the overall at the forefront of NHS bf projects and awareness so I feel that I should have done the diploma to begin with.
An NCT bf counsellor has told me though that she prefers the way the BfN deal with bf issues.

I have trained with ABM - did the mother supporter module first which only takes a few months. Just finishing my actual counsellor training which has taken just over 2.5 years I think but I did have a baby in the middle. ABM was great for me as all modules are done by post - there are no classes to go to as such.

LLL currently have the 'ten new groups' project which is funding new leader applicants (like meeeeeeeeee!) and they are making arrangements for people to do it in various ways that make it easier for lone members.