I followed the
accepted practice until I joined the Academy of
Breastfeeding Medicine in 2001 and began my education in support of breastfeedin
Breastfeeding Medicine in 2001 and began my education in support of
breastfeedingbreastfeeding in earnest.
Karleen went into some depth, including case studies and a role play, to illustrate what
breastfeeding counselling is and is not, covering: the theoretical foundations of counselling
practice (unconditional positive regard, congruence, creating emotional safety), the theoretical foundations of counselling process (empathetic understanding, understanding the mother's experience and validating,
accepting and valuing that experience), key counselling skills, exploratory questions, clarifying questions, offering information not instruction, offering appropriate reassurance and then offering suggestions and helping to make a plan.