If you have questions or would like more information
on breastfeeding, call the National Women's Health Information
Center's (NWHIC) Breastfeeding Helpline at 1-800-994
WOMAN (9662); TDD 1-888-220-5446
(9 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, EST). The Breastfeeding
Helpline is a project of the U .S. Department of Health and Human
Services and is staffed with La Leche League trained Breastfeeding
Information Specialists. If you call during times that the Helpline
is not staffed, leave a message and you will be called back on
the next working day.
For serious problems, Breastfeeding Information
Specialists will suggest you follow up with your health care provider
or refer you to a lactation consultant in your area. A lactation
consultant is a professional health worker trained to help new
families be successful with breastfeeding. If a breastfeeding
counselor or lactation consultant uses the initials "IBCLC,"
they have been certified by the International Board of Lactation
Consultant Examiners. To find an IBCLC nearby, check the IBCLC
organization web site at www.iblce.org
for a list of all the currently certified IBCLCs who are registered
in the United States.
Breastfeeding Information Specialists may refer
you to a local La Leche League Leader or you may call 1-800-LA
LECHE or visit www.LALECHELEAGUE.org.
Neither Breastfeeding Information Specialists nor La Leche League
Leaders give medical advice. The Helpline offers a breastfeeding
packet with pamphlets on basic breastfeeding issues as well as
special breastfeeding situations. You also can order Easy Guides
to Breastfeeding in Spanish and Chinese, and for African American
and American Indian and Alaska Native women and their families.
Source: An Easy Guide to Breastfeeding - US Department
of Health and Human Services Office on Woman's Health 2004
BREASTFEEDING
AND THE LAW
