CHIP Supports Breastfeeding Families in NRV
Pictured above: CHIP Nurse Supervisor, Jolee Crawford and CHIP Coordinator, Angie Nichols
Breastfeeding is an important public health issue. To better support breastfeeding families, the World Health Organization and UNICEF, among other international and national health authorities, recommend that all maternal/child health workers become educated in skills necessary to support breastfeeding families. The art and science of breastfeeding is not a matter for specialists alone but is a foundation of health that should be widely understood and respected.
To further this goal locally, NRCA’s CHIP of NRV strongly supports staff training. CHIP of NRV now has two Certified Lactation Counselors on staff! Angie Nichols, CHIP Program Coordinator, and Jolee Crawford, CHIP Nurse Supervisor, each attended a 40-hour course and passed the exams to become Certified Lactation Counselors (CLCs).
The Center for Breastfeeding’s Lactation Counselor Training is a college-level course designed to provide current, research-based information and clinical competency validation for the provision of professional lactation care. On the final day, the examination was administrated by the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice (ALPP). Successful completion of the CLC course confirmed that CHIP supervisors have met the required competencies and have a firm grounding in information and counseling skills required to provide support to breastfeeding mothers.
Nurse Supervisor, Jolee Crawford, noted about the training, “Getting my CLC was a big step in the right direction. I have been exposed to breastfeeding, but this course was a game changer. I was taught simple, direct techniques needed for new parents that may be struggling to feel successful with breastfeeding. The course cleared up lots of ‘misinformation’ I have learned throughout the years, too. It was so instrumental in helping me to explain and demonstrate to parents successful ways of breastfeeding along with, of course, the positive benefits. For new moms that choose to breastfeed and feel successful is such a wonderful gift to give our clients. Life changing.”
