Recently I was a participant in Kim Smith's Breastfeeding Workshop for Doulas. I am a Registered Nurse and a CAPPA trained doula. My reason for taking the course was to add to my helping skills in the breastfeeding realm, as I primarily volunteer in the area of c-section and VBAC support, as well as talking to moms after they have experienced birth trauma and may have had breastfeeding difficulties as a consequence. I am also a babywearing educator, and often times mothers will turn to babywearing as a tool to breastfeed and have normalized activity. I thought that the workshop was very comprehensive and raised many key issues. Kim addressed a wide variety of topics, and reinforced what is normal to see and what key tools a doula can use to assist her client. It also covered elements, like the WHO code of breastmilk and breastmilk substitutes, BFI, and societal issues which affect our clients. We had lots of opportunity for discussion, videos which were informative and relevant, and Kim did a great job keeping us on task and facilitating the workshop. She came prepared with technology but it was very well balanced and well used to teach the workshop. My feedback to Kim was that every birth professional should review this information. Even though I am a registered nurse and have a degree, I found that the information Kim provided was cutting edge, evidence based, and would absolutely apply to any professional working with lactation. As a labour doula, I have seen the benefit to having additional breastfeeding support on board with my own clients. Not all clients are able to access feeding advice, and it has been inconsistent. I think Kim's workshop would absolutely apply to our professional development as nurses and definitely to doulas, midwives, and anyone else working with mother and child.I thoroughly enjoyed the worshop.
If you are interested in having me speak with a group of professionals, please contact me.
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