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What does a lactation consultant do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

Lactation consultants are responsible for assisting new mothers in caring for their newborn babies. Their job includes helping mothers in their breastfeeding sessions and giving pre- and post-natal education to help them recover from giving birth. Before the actual process of giving birth, lactation consultants also provide seminars for couples who want to have a baby to prepare for pregnancy. They provide education to prepare clients physically, socially, and emotionally for the lactation period or the process of breastfeeding.

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Lactation consultant responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real lactation consultant resumes:

  • Manage communications with referral source, medical providers, injure worker and other parties involve in the rehabilitation process.
  • Provide clinical lactation support, community breastfeeding education, and CPR instruction
  • Work in outpatient breastfeeding center as IBCLC with occasional floating to inpatient lactation consulting.
  • Provide guidance to birth mothers on proper positions and latch techniques to minimize potential complications.
  • Implement and oversee a maternity services clinic focusing on prenatal education, lactation services, and breastfeeding.
  • Perform nutrition assessment for participants by providing participants with information on healthy eating, nursing assistance, and healthy lifestyle choices.
  • Assist with positioning and latch, hand expression, alternative feeding methods such as (cup, syringe and SNS).
  • Coordinate yearly maternity health fair.
  • Facilitate breastfeeding newborn class for inpatient post-partum women/families.
  • Provide telephone consultations to prenatal and post-partum parents regarding breastfeeding/OB-GYN concerns.
  • Prepare patient packets for -round with consultant and patients -assist with clerical assignments
  • Plan, organize and deliver lactation management services to all breastfeeding patients.
  • Apply specialize knowledge and assessment skills to assist postpartum families in maximizing lactation success.
  • Provide assistance to plaintiff and defense attorneys in medical/dental malpractice, personal injury, and criminal case preparation.
  • Help develop and maintain Aveda standards and educational requirements.

Lactation consultant skills and personality traits

We calculated that 27% of Lactation Consultants are proficient in Patients, IBCLC, and Patient Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Emotional stability, and Physical stamina.

We break down the percentage of Lactation Consultants that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 27%

    Prepared patient packets for -Rounded with consultant and patients -Assisted with clerical assignments

  • IBCLC, 17%

    Assisted staff in developing lactation support skills Clinical Instructor for staff member seeking to take the IBCLC exam.

  • Patient Care, 13%

    Provide quality educational programs and activities to the nursing personnel to promote individual development and improve quality of patient care.

  • International Board, 8%

    Perform a range of professional duties within the scope of practice as a Registered Dietitian and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.

  • CPR, 5%

    Teach infant CPR and safety (Friends & Family).

  • Mother-Baby, 4%

    Lower Manhattan Hospital Assist mothers in Labor Unit, Mother-Baby Unit, and Special Care Nursery

Common skills that a lactation consultant uses to do their job include "patients," "ibclc," and "patient care." You can find details on the most important lactation consultant responsibilities below.

Detail oriented. The most essential soft skill for a lactation consultant to carry out their responsibilities is detail oriented. This skill is important for the role because "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." Additionally, a lactation consultant resume shows how their duties depend on detail oriented: "provided detailed oral and hands-on education regarding breastfeeding and infant care. "

Emotional stability. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling lactation consultant duties is emotional stability. The role rewards competence in this skill because "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." According to a lactation consultant resume, here's how lactation consultants can utilize emotional stability in their job responsibilities: "provide positive feedback and emotional support to families to ensure breastfeeding. "

Physical stamina. This is an important skill for lactation consultants to perform their duties. For an example of how lactation consultant responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a lactation consultant: "provide consultations, physical assessment, planning, evaluation, education and supportive counseling. ".

Communication skills. A big part of what lactation consultants do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to lactation consultant responsibilities because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical lactation consultant tasks: "maintain records in electronic medical charting system and provide written communications on patient care to colleagues. "

Most common lactation consultant skills

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Compare different lactation consultants

Lactation consultant vs. Nurse

Nurses are medical professionals assigned to a specific department in the hospital and provide their trusted department services. Nurses are in charge of taking patients' medical histories, getting vital signs, preparing patients for checkups or procedures, explaining upcoming practices, answering any questions, and communicating any concerns to the assigned doctor. Nurses should ensure that patients follow the medical advice given to them. They also assist patients in completing administrative requirements, such as filling out forms, validating details, and endorsing payments.

The annual salary of nurses is $15,594 lower than the average salary of lactation consultants.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between lactation consultants and nurses are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like patients, patient care, and cpr.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between lactation consultants and nurse. For instance, lactation consultant responsibilities require skills such as "ibclc," "international board," "mother-baby," and "maternity." Whereas a nurse is skilled in "home health," "bls," "acute care," and "acls." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Nurses earn the highest salaries when working in the government industry, with an average yearly salary of $63,263. On the other hand, lactation consultants are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $73,061.The education levels that nurses earn slightly differ from lactation consultants. In particular, nurses are 7.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a lactation consultant. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Lactation consultant vs. Nurse extern

The job of a nurse extern is to assist the mentor nurse in their nursing duties. They help the mentor nurse in various medical procedures such as administering medications or starting intravenous therapies. They provide or help with personal patient care, including changing bed linens, oral hygiene, and bathing. Nurse externships typically have different requirements that include having finished nursing school, completing a clinical nursing course before the training, and being registered in a nursing program.

On average, nurse externs earn a $36,002 lower salary than lactation consultants a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Lactation consultants and nurse externs both require similar skills like "patients," "patient care," and "cpr" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, lactation consultant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "ibclc," "international board," "mother-baby," and "maternity." Meanwhile, a nurse extern has duties that require skills in areas such as "vital signs," "direct patient care," "direct supervision," and "iv." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Nurse externs may earn a lower salary than lactation consultants, but nurse externs earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $39,085. On the other hand, lactation consultants receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $73,061.In general, nurse externs achieve lower levels of education than lactation consultants. They're 9.0% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Lactation consultant vs. Registered nurse supervisor

A Registered Nurse Supervisor oversees a team of registered nurses in a hospital or clinic, making sure that all operations are efficient and up to standard. Moreover, they are responsible for the daily management of nurses, such as when it comes to evaluation, development, and assigning schedules and patients. Aside from supervising and ensuring that everything is running smoothly in their field, they also have to communicate and coordinate with physicians and even families of patients. The responsibilities of a Nurse Supervisor is challenging; this is why they must be proactive and excellent at communication.

An average registered nurse supervisor eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of lactation consultants. The difference in salaries amounts to registered nurse supervisors earning a $1,016 higher average salary than lactation consultants.By looking over several lactation consultants and registered nurse supervisors resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "patients," "patient care," and "cpr." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, lactation consultants are more likely to have skills like "ibclc," "international board," "mother-baby," and "maternity." But a registered nurse supervisor is more likely to have skills like "rehabilitation," "acute care," "resident care," and "customer service."

Registered nurse supervisors make a very good living in the professional industry with an average annual salary of $78,568. On the other hand, lactation consultants are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $73,061.registered nurse supervisors typically earn lower educational levels compared to lactation consultants. Specifically, they're 7.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Lactation consultant vs. Home health nurse

A home health nurse is responsible for assisting patients usually in their households, strictly monitoring their health conditions and treatment plans for fast recovery. Home health nurses work with the patients' attending physicians and other health professionals to develop healthcare plans and administer timely medications. They update the patient's chart regularly, record temperature and vital signs, manage food intake, and respond to the patients' inquiries and requests. A home health nurse must have strong organizational and time-management skills to perform various nursing duties under certain conditions.

Home health nurses average a lower salary than the annual salary of lactation consultants. The difference is about $3,765 per year.While their salaries may vary, lactation consultants and home health nurses both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "patients," "patient care," and "patient education. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "ibclc," "international board," "cpr," and "mother-baby" are skills that commonly show up on lactation consultant resumes. On the other hand, home health nurses use skills like home health, quality care, rehabilitation, and physician orders on their resumes.In general, home health nurses earn the most working in the health care industry, with an average salary of $70,685. The highest-paying industry for a lactation consultant is the health care industry.home health nurses reach lower levels of education compared to lactation consultants, in general. The difference is that they're 8.7% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of lactation consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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