All
in a day's work …Meet Ali a breastfeeding counsellor
What exactly does a breastfeeding counsellor do? Is she a version of a mammary-obsessed Frasier Crane? Babyworld spoke to Ali White, breastfeeding counsellor with the NCT, to find out more about her role.
Getting started, getting personal …
BW: Excuse us getting personal so soon. But out of curiosity … did you have problems breastfeeding your children?
AW: Yes! When I had my daughter in hospital in Oxford, I stayed in for four days, trying to get to grips with breastfeeding. I was always ringing the bell for the midwife - luckily it was quiet that week! She'd come along and put my daughter in the right position to feed so, when it was time for me to leave, I still didn't know what to do and panicked. I sent my husband out with orders to stock up on formula because I was convinced I wouldn't be able to do it! But I managed …
With my son, I felt rather more confident about the whole thing because I was already training to be a breastfeeding counsellor. When I developed mastitis I refused to admit I had it because I thought, 'For God's sake, you're a breastfeeding counsellor. Of course you know what you're doing!' In the end I had to go to the breastfeeding clinic for help and, with a few minor adjustments, he was feeding better and my mastitis cleared. It was then I realised that I wanted to champion this cause!
BW: Interesting … So what exactly do you do as a breastfeeding counsellor?
AW: I wear a number of different hats. I work as a volunteer breastfeeding counsellor for the NCT and on the paediatric ward of my local hospital, where I also run training sessions for the medical and support staff on how to help mums breastfeed. I run breastfeeding sessions for mums-to-be on NCT antenatal classes and work with my local Sure Start programme to help promote breastfeeding in deprived inner city areas. My work generally falls into the following categories:
- Emotional support - sometimes breastfeeding problems are caused
by psychological issues. Many new mums are (rightly) overwhelmed by the
sheer amount of work and responsibility it is having a baby, especially
with the feeding demands. I am trained in counselling skills generally so
this helps in such situations, and I can spend an hour or two with them,
going through their worries and, hopefully, reassuring them.
- Practical support - these are mainly issues of the baby not latching
on properly. This is where sitting with the mum is invaluable, rather than
listening over the phone - I can see what they are doing and try to help
them with some minor adjustments!
- Promoting breastfeeding services - both in my NCT role and my hospital
job I try to get mums to come along to the breastfeeding clinic at the hospital.
I think what's so important and wonderful about the clinic is that they
meet other mums with problems which, in itself, is great support.
- Advice over the telephone - I take referrals from GPs, health visitors
and midwives and will talk to women on the phone about general breastfeeding
issues, eg mastitis. I can't medically diagnose someone but I can recommend
they see their GP and give them some self-help tips in the meantime.
- Promoting feeding to mums-to-be - this is very much in line with this year's National Breastfeeding Awareness Week's focus. Many women, especially younger ones, are put off breastfeeding when they are pregnant because their friends tell them it's difficult and warn them that if they voice even a mild interest in doing it, they will be hounded by midwives and health visitors to keep at it, even if they don't want to. It's such a shame that they are discouraged before they even give it a go.
BW: But don't you try to coax women to keep on trying to breastfeed?
AW: No! In fact, when a health visitor recommends me to someone, I insist the mother calls me, not the other way around. The last thing I want to do is to call a mother and 'force' her to talk to me when she has already decided to give up breastfeeding. It makes the mum feel guilty and, let's face it, mums unfortunately already have bucket-loads of guilt to carry round!
BW: Do some women who see you still decide to bottle feed?
AW: Yes. But normally we will have gone through the physical and/or emotional issues first. I think if mums feel they have explored every possible route and that breastfeeding still isn't working for them then they have given it their best shot and can come to terms with their decision, rather than feeling awful about it for months or years to come.
Summing up …
BW: And finally … anything you'd like to say about your job?
AW: I'd like to see breastfeeding become part of the community again. One hundred years ago everyone breastfed because they grew up seeing their mums, grannies, sisters, aunts etc doing it. I hate the term 'breastfeeding expert' as I think the best people to advise on breastfeeding problems are women themselves. I like to think that my role merely rolls into one the sort of support that women, 100 years ago, would have got from their family. Being part of the community in that way feels so much nicer than being an aloof expert!
Ali White worked as a nurse before training to be a breastfeeding counsellor with the NCT. She is married with two children and lives in Birmingham.
Where to next?
- Find out more about how to breastfeed in our breastfeeding section
- Having trouble breastfeeding? Use our problem solver
- Frequently asked questions about breastfeeding - see our experts' answers
- Discuss breastfeeding with other mums on our Feeding discussion board
- Unable or don't want to breastfeed? Check out our section on bottlefeeding
- National Breastfeeding Week information and features page
- See the babyworld features library
