Breastfeeding consultant, Isabel Jordan, is our newest forum expert - welcome on board!

25 October 2016

Hi there Isabel and welcome to the team of forum experts. Please do tell me a little bit about how and why you ended up specialising as a breastfeeding consultant.

So I ended up becoming an IBCLC firstly by becoming a mother.  I had my first child in 2003.  Although I was a staff Nurse and worked at the Leicester Royal Infirmary on a busy surgical ward I knew only the basics about childbirth and breastfeeding. I distinctly remember being told that the only alveoli were in the lungs during my nurse training.  Plus we were told about breast surgery but not about the function of the breasts.  My start in motherhood was rocky and I would say I breastfed successfully but this was despite the support I got from health profesionals rather than because of it.  My community midwife was lovely though and suggested that I go along to La Leche League in Leicester and I felt as though I had entered a room of women who really understood my worries and issues.  I became a La Leache League Leader, had another baby and then in 2013 became an IBCLC which involves a 4 hour exam on breastfeeding and child development, plus a lot of study and you then have to maintain that and have to recertify every 5 years.  

I notice that you work with people both antenatally and postnatally: what is the once piece of advice you would like to pass on to all first time mums-to-be when it comes to breastfeeding?

This is impossibly hard! I think that staying in skin to skin contact with your baby as much as is humanly possible given the birth you get, is key.  By that I mean that you should think about doing this for many days after birth especially if things havent 'gone quite to plan'.

Postnatally what is the most common problem you get asked to help with?

 Sore nipples - this is usually down to latch issues.  The puzzle then becomes why are there latch issues.  The most common issue is not understanding the way a baby latches on and the asymetric latch.  

At a national level, what key organisations would you recommend people turn to for breastfeeding support?

• La Leche League
• LCGB
• NCT

Could you give us your top 3 breastfeeding tips?

1. Skin to skin
2. Get your network of support in place before your baby arrives -find your local experts and the ones you think you can trust.
3. If it doesnt feel right or things are not going right get hel from a qualified expert.  

Thank you for joining the team of forum experts, Isabel, and thank you for offering us your advice here today. You are on the forum all week where mums can pop over and ask you directly for help.

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