Sharon Cooper tackles the big issues: Lactation Consultants
Tuesday the House Health & Human Services Committee passed a bill out of committee to license and regulate “lactation consultants.” The bill targets medical professionals who operate in medical facilities and help new moms how to breastfeed.
House Bill 649 by Rep. Sharon Cooper, a Cobb County Republican, was filed in March of 2015 but did not move last year.
A quick Google search tells me that a “lactation consultant” is defined as “an allied health professional who specializes in the clinical management of breastfeeding. Lactation consultants commonly work in hospitals, physician or midwife practices, public health programs, and private practice.”
HB 649’s listed purpose is to protect the “safety, health, and welfare” of the public, and Chairman Cooper obviously feels this is one of the most pressing bills of the legislative session since she’s got the pedal to the metal on day 10.
The bill proposed would do the following:
- establish a “lactation consultant” advisory board
- require all lactation consultants to be Board Certified
- require background checks
- require any consultant to obtain a license through the State of Georgia
- allow the advisory board established to set fees for the licenses – no amount set
There was only one dissenting vote when the bill passed out of committee – Rep. John Pezold (R-Columbus).
We’ll keep you abreast as to how this bill progresses.
About Author
Jessica Szilagyi
Add a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
We really need a “consultant” to answer the most important question since Eve fed Cain and Abel? Left or Right?
HAHAHAHA. See my comment below. Bless your heart, may your offspring never be tongue-tied, and may your nipples never bleed.
My wife had our first baby a year ago and it made me realize 1) how difficult and stressful breastfeeding is and 2) how many babies have issues ever feeding effectively. Our child was tongue-tied and the hospital didn’t snip it right away, so it basically led to a 2 month spiral where he lost weight and was in and out of doctor’s appointments. It’s something none of us men ever imagine would be a problem requiring a consultant, but it is.
They didn’t have cottage industries for insurance scams back then.
Passing an opportunity for some healthy humor here, lactation consulting is big business with organizations everywhere and a national program of certification. Don’t know what this bill does but LC is covered under ACA and it would be wise to at least get a grip (pun intended) on who can collect.
A photo opp for Deal too !
http://www.selca.info/index.html
“We’ll keep you abreast as to how this bill progresses.”
I see what you did there…
First of all, for the people who are all, “Yeah, right, who needs a consultant for that,” I am just going to assume that you have never lactated and have never tried to nurse a screaming, colicky, refluxy newborn, or even a sweet, well-behaved newborn, because breastfeeding is not nearly as intuitive as one might think. Like, once you’ve managed to get the hang of it, you will probably wonder aloud how on earth humanity managed to survive, that’s how difficult it can be to successfully breastfeed.
Because, seriously think about it: breastfeeding is free. If it were truly that easy, why would anyone use formula, which is super expensive, if they didn’t have to (food allergies, adoption, etc.)?
I’ll spare you my breastfeeding war stories unless someone says something truly, outrageously dumb and then all bets are off and I’ll be happy to regale y’all with tales of my bleeding nipples. But with regards to this bill, I am curious who is behind it – meaning, who persuaded Rep. Cooper to drop this bill? I only ever used lactation consultants who were certified by the IBCLE. I am sure there are plenty of other people who offer breastfeeding support, but I always went with an IBCLC because I am the kind of woman who prefers that the people whom she lets handle her breasts (besides my dear husband, who is blushing by now if he’s reading this) be vetted by a professional standards organization.
So if the IBCLE is already out there doing this, why (besides a cash grab and an extra layer of bureaucracy) does the state need to be involved? And if the state insists on being involved, maybe they could work to make it easier for breastfeeding mothers to, say, pump at work, or get better WIC support for breastfeeding?
Hmmmm, upon closer examination of the text of the legislation, it looks like if you are IBCLE-certified, you would automatically licensed by the state and wouldn’t have to pay the fee? So maybe the IBCLC is behind this? Because in addition to the background check, the state would rely on IBCLE standards:
101 (1) Meeting the international education and clinical standards established for IBCLCs
102 by the IBLCE or other national testing service as approved by the board;
103 (2) Providing proof of successful completion of the IBLCE examination or other
104 examination as approved by the board
You got it. But Shouldn’t take a mom to figure this out.
Um.
For some reason the lyrics “you put the lime in the coconut ” come to mind.
Why do we need yet another state bureaucracy to license something where there already is a national board that does the same thing? More and bigger government is not the answer. A few sessions back we did the same thing for music therapist. I wonder if they could help me get the theme song for Deliverance out of my head every time the Georgia Legislature is in session.
+100 on the Deliverance theme, ’cause we’re all in the Ned Beatty role getting thrown over the log on this one! Lol!
Any lawyer on here wanna help me get an exhumation order for Sen. Proxmire to bring back his Golden Fleece Award for this collosal waste of money!? Good Lord!
You know he hated NASA… If we had it his way, no Voyager.
“We’ll keep you abreast as to how this bill progresses.”
I’m sure you’ll keep milking that for all it’s worth until this bill just goes tits up. I just hope you don’t get distracted on all the bills bouncing around allowing this group and that to suckle from the government teet. This bill looks like a handful, which is really all you need…
…and with that, I think I’ve gotten my dollars worth.
I guess you’re saying that this bill sucks?
Nothing says Nanny State louder than legislating ninny.
I’m betting there is an insurance company or two pulling the strings on this one. Given some of the other licensing board issues with the current SoS I don’t think we need to make mountains out of molehills at this time.
I just want to say, other than Jessica/Teri, it’s been quite enjoyable reading all these guys’ posts.
So you don’t want to hear about what I had to do with that grapefruit seed oil I bought at the hippie herb store?
So does that mean that if you don’t have the license you can’t offer advice about breastfeeding?
I need a vacation. Maybe the Grand Tetons.