Sarah Jane Brown
One half on Lactation Consultants South UK

I qualified as a midwife in 1987 and in 1992 commenced my role as an Infant Feeding Advisor based in St Mary’s Maternity Hospital, Portsmouth.  In 1995 I qualified as an IBCLC and I re-sat the examination in 2005.  In 2002 following completion of a MA in Education I became a Lecturer Practitioner, Infant Feeding Adviser, working for the School of Midwifery Studies Bournemouth University as well maternity services in Portsmouth. I now work part time in both of these roles trying to devote some time to researching the role of IBCLCs in practice.  From 2002 to 2005 I was fortunate enough to be National Co-ordinator on Lactation Consultants GB, which has enhanced my understanding of the dedication and knowledge of IBCLCs.

The business of Lactation Consultants UK almost had its own momentum when it started in 2002 and a full account is available in the MIDIRS article “Working differently: Starting up a business” which is available on this site.  Just to add that Carolyn and I still enjoy our walking holidays, which I mentioned in this article.

My interests lie in breastfeeding practice, education and research and I hope everyone has some fun as well acquired some new knowledge at the end of our workshops just as Carolyn and I do.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:

LCGB CONFERENCE MANCHESTER 2007
Starting a business

MATERNAL AND INFANT NUTRITION (MAIN) CONFERENCE 2007
Grange-over-sands
Breast pain

SUPPORTING BREASTFEEDING PRACTICE, PEER WORKERS
CONFERENCE 2006 – Fareham, Hants.

NORTH EAST REGIONAL BREASTFEEDING CONFERENCE 2004
Feeding the cleft lip and or palate baby.

PORTSMOUTH HEALTH TRUST – COLLABORATIVE WORKING 2004  Developing an educational framework for breastfeeding practice and working with peer supporters.

BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY – COLLABORATIVE CONFERENCE 2004  Lived experiences of Lecture practitioners in clinical practice.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF MIDWIVES ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Harrogate 2003.   Lived experience of Lecturer Practitioners in clinical practice.

ROYAL COLLEGE OF MIDWIVES ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Study day Jersey 2000.  Presentation on managing change in infant feeding practices in the clinical area.

IMPROVING BREASTFEEDING PRACTICE
Study day, Portsmouth Hospital NHS Trust 1998 Presentation on peer support for local breastfeeding women.

INFANT FEEDING AND THE PHARMACIST
Organizer Pharmaceutical Support Service Portsmouth 1998 Presentation and workshop on feeding and use of equipment.

WEANING STUDY DAY
Organizer British Meat Education Services Portsmouth 1998.  Presentation on feeding policies.

MARKETING MIDWIFERY
Organizer Royal College of Midwives Harrogate 1997.  Presentation on maternity unit open days.

PUBLICATIONS:

BROWN, S, 2007 Reflection on working as part of a group for a research project.
MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 17:3 323-324

BROWN, S. 2006. 
Experiences of lecturer practitioners working in clinical practice.
Nurse Education Today 27(7) 601-608

BROWN, S. 2005.
Working differently: Starting up a business.
MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 15 (2) 169-170.

BROWN, S. 2005.
Reflections on the changes in breast anatomy.
Midwifery Matters, Spring.

BROWN, S. 2003.
Lactation consultants: a blueprint for clinical excellence.
RCM Midwives Journal, mid March 4-5.

BROWN, S. 2003.
Nipple shields – never a good thing?
The Practising Midwife 6 (2) 42.                 

BROWN,S. 2000.
The picture of contentment: the story of a slow weight gaining baby.
The Practising Midwife.3 (11): 16-19.

BROWN, S. ALEXANDER, J. THOMAS, P. 1999.
Feeding outcomes of term breastfeeding infants supplemented
by cup or bottle.
Midwifery.15 (2) 92 – 98.  Reprinted in MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 10:4.
                                                                                         
BROWN, S. 1998.
Breastfeeding triplets.
Midwifery Matters 78 : 8-9. Reprinted in MIDIRS Midwifery Digest 9:1 : 86 – 88.

BROWN, S. 1998.
Peer support for breastfeeding women: working with women in the community.
The Practising Midwife 1 (7/8) : 20 – 22.

POSTER PRESENTATION:

Managing change: parents making up bottle feeds in a maternity unit.  RCM Conference Cardiff 2004                 

Teenage boys attitude to breastfeeding International Lactation Consultants Conference, Sydney 2003

Carolyn Westcott
The other half of Lactation Consultants South UK

I am a Registered General Nurse initially specialising in Cardiothoracic Intensive Care and Renal Dialysis and Transplants. Following a break from nursing to raise my two sons, I became interested in breastfeeding support and became a NCT breastfeeding counsellor for 17 years and subsequently a NCT tutor for 3 years. In 1989, I returned to full-time employment and took up the post of Infant Feeding Advisor/Lactation Consultant at the Princess Anne Maternity Hospital in Southampton. I have recently retired after 17 years in that post.

During my time at the Princess Anne Hospital I managed the Southampton Human Milk Bank and remain the Vice-chair of the UK Association for Milk Banking (UKAMB).

In 2000, I was trained by Mr Mervyn Griffiths to perform frenulotomy in babies with a tongue-tie. Together with a colleague we became the first people outside the medical profession in the UK to perform this procedure. For the last 3 years I have been training others in this procedure.

I became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 1993 and have been the UK Co-ordinator for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE), organising this exam for candidates in the UK since 1999.

I have spoken at many conferences in the UK, Australia, USA, Mexico, Netherlands and Ireland. The subjects have included the treatment of tongue-tie (frenulotomy), milk-banking, feeding premature babies, the miracles of the mouth and feeding babies with cleft lip and palate.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN MILK BANKING CONFERENCE 2007
Chester
Heat treating breastmilk

NORTH STAFFS MATERNITY HOSPITAL 2007
Setting up a tongue-tie service

ST MARY’S HOSPITAL STUDY DAY
Portsmouth 2003, Tongue-tie and breastfeeding

UK ASSOCIATION FOR MILK BANKING ANNUAL CONFERENCE
London 2003, Satellite milk banks

LACTATION CONSULTANTS GB ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Durham 2003, Tongue-tie and breastfeeding

BABY FRIENDLY INITIATIVE ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Bournemouth 2003, Tongue-tie and breastfeeding and training lactation consultants

INFANT FEEDING CONFERENCE
Stevenage 2004, Tongue-tie and breastfeeding

NEONATAL EDUCATION DAY
Southampton 2004, Donor breastmilk banking – an update

NETHERLANDS INTERNATIONAL BREASTFEEDING CONFERENCE
Amersfoort 2004, Tongue-tie and feeding problems

ASSOCIATION OF BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Slough 2004, To snip or not to snip

ASSOC OF LACTATION CONSULTANTS IRELAND, ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Maynooth 2004, The marvels of the mouth – Identification, breastfeeding assessment & management of oral anomalies.
To snip or not to snip, a RCT into tongue-tie division

TEESIDE UNIVERSITY NEONATAL CONFERENCE 2005
Tongue-tie and its effect on feeding

WEXHAM PARK HOSPITAL BREASTFEEDING SEMINAR 2005
Tongue-tie and breastfeeding

BREASTFEEDING SEMINAR
Norwich 2006, Tongue-tie – Feeding problem or fad?

NATIONAL CHILDBIRTH TRUST ANNUAL CONFERENCE
London 2006, Providing donor milk

INTERNATIONAL LACTATION CONSULTANTS ASSOC INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Philadelphia 2006, A Randomised Controlled Trial into Tongue-tie division

PUBLICATIONS:

Randomized, controlled trial of division of tongue-tie in infants with feeding problems.

Hogan M, Westcott C, Griffiths M.  J Paediatr. Child Health (2005) 41,  246-250

POSTER PRESENTATION:

INTERNATIONAL LACTATION CONSULTANTS ASSOC INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Australia 2004, A Randomised Controlled Trial into Tongue-tie division

INTERNATIONAL LACTATION CONSULTANTS ASSOC INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Philadelphia 2006, Results of a RCT into Tongue-tie division