Lactation consultants work with health professionals and lay support groups in providing formal and informal education in lactation management for parents, and for the staff who care for them. They give information and practical help to mothers at any stage in the breastfeeding process, in order to prevent or solve difficulties and to make the experience as enjoyable as possible. They may also act as their advocates in liaison with other health professionals such as GPs, for example in giving advice about medical treatment.
The association - 'Lactation Consultants of Great Britain (LCGB)' - also lobbies for the creation of a society in which breastfeeding is accepted as the normal and preferred method of nourishing babies and young children. They challenge and strive to remove the many obstacles which stand in the way of this goal.
Lactation consultants who are members of LCGB undertake various courses of studies covering many aspects of infant feeding, including anatomy and physiology of lactation, infant development, child protection, use of medication in nursing mothers, and counselling skills. They believe that their professional qualification enables parents and health professionals to be confident that they have essential knowledge and skills to share.
A directory of lactation consultants and their contact details can be found on the LCGB website.
The authors and editors of this article are employed to create accurate and up to date content reflecting reliable research evidence, guidance and best clinical practice. They are free from any commercial conflicts of interest. Find out more about updating.
Patient UK Hearing Impairment Survey
Patient UK are grateful to the 550 people who took part in this survey. To see the results click here. If you'd like to leave your feedback, please go to our interactive forum.
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Information Leaflets which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Support Groups which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Medicines & Drugs which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of diagrams which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of PatientPlus (detailed reference) articles which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of UK Guidelines which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of other selected websites which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Poems and Stories which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Operations and Procedures which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Online Videos which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find links through to our interactive forum. Here you can follow a link to view existing patient experiences on this subject, or to add your own
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find links to news stories on this subject in our Online Newspaper
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find links to related products
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find links to other useful sources of information
Click here to open a printer-friendly version of this document, in a new window, together with the print dialogue box
Click here to open this document in PDF format This will offer you the usual PDF options i.e. document navigation, search, zoom and formatted print Note: this is the best way to print the document
Click here to listen to the MP3 audio recording of this document
Click here to download the audio recording of this document as a podcast, for listening to at your leisure
Click here to open our Dictionaries and Glossaries page
Click here to see related products in our Online Pharmacy Note: this will open in a new window
Click here to add this page to a social bookmarking site of your choice
Click here if you want to find out more about social bookmarking. This link will take you to the Wikipedia explanation Note: this will open in a new window
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Information Leaflets which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Support Groups which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Medicines & Drugs which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of diagrams which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of PatientPlus (detailed reference) articles which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of UK Guidelines which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of other selected websites which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Poems and Stories which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Operations and Procedures which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find a list of Online Videos which are related to the topic you are currently viewing
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find links through to our interactive forum. Here you can follow a link to view existing patient experiences on this subject, or to add your own
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find links to news stories on this subject in our Online Newspaper
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find links to related products
Clicking here will take you to the foot of this page where you'll find links to other useful sources of information
Click here to open a printer-friendly version of this document, in a new window, together with the print dialogue box
Click here to open this document in PDF format This will offer you the usual PDF options i.e. document navigation, search, zoom and formatted print Note: this is the best way to print the document
Click here to listen to the MP3 audio recording of this document
Click here to download the audio recording of this document as a podcast, for listening to at your leisure
Click here to open our Dictionaries and Glossaries page
Click here to see related products in our Online Pharmacy Note: this will open in a new window
Click here to add this page to a social bookmarking site of your choice
Click here if you want to find out more about social bookmarking. This link will take you to the Wikipedia explanation Note: this will open in a new window
Click here to return to the home page
Click here to read our 'About Us' page
Go to the Emis Access website, where you can book an appointment with your GP, order a repeat prescription or view you medical record online. Note: this will open in a new window
View and/or join in discussion about health, lifestyle and disease in our interactive forum. Note: this will open in a new window