Guest Blog: Why Did I Become a Lactation Consultant by Dalaney Young

“Be the change you wish to see in the world” This statement has been my go to through many times throughout my life, so it seemed only natural that I looked to it when I sat and thought...what do I want to do with my life? What change do I want to see in the world?
It was when I was two months postpartum with my second child that this answer came flooding into my life. My best friend had just had her first child and there she was sitting on the couch with her newborn with the look of defeat plastered all over her face. The same dreaded face that I have come to recognize all too quickly with many of my patients ... Her son would not latch onto the breast. Though I had a few months of breastfeeding under my belt, I lacked the education, verbiage, and overall counseling techniques to get her through this hurdle. I was at a loss as how I could help. I knew that I loved breastfeeding my child more than anything, the look of contentment, sedation, love and purity that came from him each time he fed, I knew that I wanted her to experience that same feeling, especially since she wanted it so badly. Be the change...I decided then that she was my muse to my new found path. I delved right into how I could be the change I wanted to see in this world, where women who chose to breastfeed had the support, guidance, alliance and encouragement they needed to reach their goals. I earned a BS in Maternal and Child Health with a concentration in Human Lactation; from there I earned my IBCLC. I became the change I wanted to see in this world, and now my new mantra to each patient I see has become, "my goal is to help you achieve yours, whether its three days, three months or three years, I will support you”. Never would I have thought that a profession could feed your soul as much as this one does, but each day I am reminded of that enrichment by the sighs of relief after a successful feeding, a mother’s soft gaze into her newborns eyes and the empowerment she feels when our consult ends. I have become what I set out to be!