A week in my lactation clinic: ‘Breastfeeding is hard but it gets much easier than formula-feeding ’

I’ve been working as a lactation consultant since 2007. I started off as a volunteer breastfeeding counsellor with Ciudiú in 1993 and decided that I would take the step to become an international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) and start providing home care and dealing with mums on a one-to-one basis. I saw so many women coming to support groups who had just missed out on that very early care and might have had an easier experience if they had had a home visit early on. My working week changes from week to week. The bulk of my work is visiting women in their homes, all over Cork city and county. Consultations usually last about two hours. I do follow-ups, where they usually come...