Legal and Ethical Concerns for the Lactation Consultant

As a trusted healthcare provider, you know that you have a responsibility to carry out your lactation practice in a legal and ethical manner. But what does that mean? What are the areas you need to be aware of, so you don’t accidentally run into legal issues? And what do you do if, despite your best efforts, you find yourself in a legal or ethical dilemma?

Join Liz Brooks, JD, IBCLC, FILCA, on an information-packed journey through all the ways lactation practice intersects with the law. From telehealth and electronic media to conflicts of interest to lawsuits, complaints, and intellectual property rights, Brooks covers every area in which lactation care providers engage with legal and ethical issues, informed by her own extensive legal background and her experience as an IBCLC. You’ll leave this course equipped with key understanding and a whole new perspective on lactation and the law.

Brooks covers:

• How practice-guiding documents from the IBCLC Commission, ILCA, and other governing bodies affect your legal responsibilities
• The WHO International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes
• Workplace/hospital policies and procedures
• Avoiding conflicts of interest
• What to do if you think you or a colleague may have done something that is illegal or unethical
• The role of the IBCLC as a potential advocate in matters of employment law, family law, and other areas
• Intellectual property laws and the use of images and other creative work
• Legal and ethical issues with milk sharing
• How to ensure privacy, security, and professionalism when using the Internet in your practice, including during telehealth consults
• Why complaints to a credentialing body are most likely more of a concern today than lawsuits, and what you need to know about them

Thinking about encountering a legal or ethical issue as a lactation consultant can be scary, but the guidance this course provides takes away the fear factor. When you follow these principles, you can feel confident that, as Brooks says, “The excellence of your professionalism will always proceed you.”

The Instructor is Liz Brooks, J.D., IBCLC, and FILCA.