Certified Lactation
Counselor Questions and
Answers
Predominant Breastfeeding - Answer:Babies who receive breastmilk and other liquids (e.g. water,
minerals, vitamins, oral meds).
Breastfeeding - Answer:Baby receives human milk, as well as other foods or fluids, including formula.
Complementary Feeding - Answer:Process starts when BM alone or infant formula alone is no longer
sufficient to meet nutritional requirements of infants, therefore other foods or liquids are introduced.
Typically child is between 6-23 months
3 strategies for increasing BF initiation and duration - Answer:Promotion, Protection, Support
Promotion - Answer:Focuses on advantages of BF on a personal, community, country, or global level. BF
to the community.
Protection - Answer:Focuses on government, manufacturer, and social responsibility to assure BF ability
to compete with commercial interests.
Includes state, local, an national laws regarding BF.
International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Subsitutes - Answer:Addresses improper marketing
practices by formula companies. It is not currently a law in the US.
What does the International Code Prohibit? - Answer:Distributing free formula
Giving coupons for formula
,What did the AAP resolution state in regards to the International Code? - Answer:No distributing
formula, discharge bags, industry written handouts.
Support - Answer:Focuses on interaction of helpers with family, as well as program development and
implementation.
10 steps to successful BF - Answer:1. Written BF policy. Skin to Skin immediately after birth.
2. Train healthcare staff
3. Inform pregnant women about benefits and management of BF
4. Help all mothers initiate BF within 1 hour after birth
5. Show mother's how to BF and maintain lactation
6. Exclusive breast milk only
7. Practice rooming in 24 hours a day
8. Encourage BF on demand
9. No artificial teats or pacifiers
10. Establishment of BF support groups
Healthcare staff responsibility for working with lactating mothers include what? - Answer:1. Training
2. Minimum of 20 hours of training
3. 3 hours of competency verification
What are the indications for providing supplementation other than breast milk? - Answer:1. Medical
condition
2. Parents request after being informed of consequences
Protocol for calculating Baby's daily needs - Answer:Baby's weight x 2.5 (2.7 or 3.0 if Baby needs to catch
up weight) = daily ounces. PCP decides what the multiplier is!!!
What should be assessed 3-5 days after birth by PCP? - Answer:Hydration (elimination patterns)
Body weight (no more than 7% loss)
,Observe Feeding
Maternal or infant issues
What is a CLC? - Answer:Nationally recognized designation awarded by the ALPP. Practice parameters
are designated by professional scope of practice.
How many stools per day should a breast fed newborn have? - Answer:4, some yellow by day 4.
When should a baby be back to birth weight? - Answer:12-14 days post birth
How much weight should a baby gain daily? - Answer:Approximately 1 ounce
Why do women supplement with formula when there is no medical need? - Answer:1. Lack of
preparation for what the newborn period would be like.
2. Lack of timely interventions
Alveoli - Answer:Small glands in the breast that produce milk
At-Breast Supplementer - Answer:a device that allows a supplement to be given while a baby is actively
nursing at the breast,
ex: Supplement Nursing System
Atopy - Answer:hypersensitive or allergic state involving an inherited predisposition
What is the BFHI Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative - Answer:Initiative by UNICEF and WHO (1991) to
support breastfeeding in hospitals and maternity centers. "The 10 Steps".
Unicef. Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. Available online:
http://www.unicef.org/programme/breastfeeding/baby.htm.
Bilirubin - Answer:an orange-yellow pigment formed in the liver by the breakdown of hemoglobin and
excreted in bile.
, CCK (cholecystokinin) - Answer:Hormone that regulates the emptying of the gallbladder and secretion of
enzymes by the pancreas.
Colostrum - Answer:Thick, milky fluid secreted by the breast during pregnancy and during the first days
after birth before lactation begins. Causes a laxative effect which helps the baby pass meconium.
Coryllos type - Answer:Classification system for anklyloglossia (tongue-tie)
Dancer Hand Position - Answer:Technique used to support Baby's chin and mother's breast. Use Thumb
and index finger under chin, remaining 3 fingers to support breast.
Alveolar Cells - Answer:found in the walls of the alveoli, simple squamous epithelial cells, main sites of
gas exchange
myoepithelial cells - Answer:contract in response to stimulation by sympathetic nervous system and
squeeze milk up the duct
Montgomery glands - Answer:Bumps on breasts (Look like goosebumps)
Produce a unique blend of milk and sebum (skin oil)
Modern study of the structure of the breast reveals what? - Answer:-Fat is mixed throughout the breast
-Uneven spacing of the ducts
-3-5 functioning nipple pores (May have 5-9, but not all work)
-No lactiferous sinus
What are the 2 hormones pathways that control lactation? - Answer:Prolactin and Oxytocin
Prolactin (4 details related to milk production) - Answer:1. is triggered by touch (pregnant and non
pregnant women). Higher levels when stimulating breast/nipples vs breast alone.
2. Lengthening time between feeding leads to lower baseline levels. (Weaning)
Counselor Questions and
Answers
Predominant Breastfeeding - Answer:Babies who receive breastmilk and other liquids (e.g. water,
minerals, vitamins, oral meds).
Breastfeeding - Answer:Baby receives human milk, as well as other foods or fluids, including formula.
Complementary Feeding - Answer:Process starts when BM alone or infant formula alone is no longer
sufficient to meet nutritional requirements of infants, therefore other foods or liquids are introduced.
Typically child is between 6-23 months
3 strategies for increasing BF initiation and duration - Answer:Promotion, Protection, Support
Promotion - Answer:Focuses on advantages of BF on a personal, community, country, or global level. BF
to the community.
Protection - Answer:Focuses on government, manufacturer, and social responsibility to assure BF ability
to compete with commercial interests.
Includes state, local, an national laws regarding BF.
International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Subsitutes - Answer:Addresses improper marketing
practices by formula companies. It is not currently a law in the US.
What does the International Code Prohibit? - Answer:Distributing free formula
Giving coupons for formula
,What did the AAP resolution state in regards to the International Code? - Answer:No distributing
formula, discharge bags, industry written handouts.
Support - Answer:Focuses on interaction of helpers with family, as well as program development and
implementation.
10 steps to successful BF - Answer:1. Written BF policy. Skin to Skin immediately after birth.
2. Train healthcare staff
3. Inform pregnant women about benefits and management of BF
4. Help all mothers initiate BF within 1 hour after birth
5. Show mother's how to BF and maintain lactation
6. Exclusive breast milk only
7. Practice rooming in 24 hours a day
8. Encourage BF on demand
9. No artificial teats or pacifiers
10. Establishment of BF support groups
Healthcare staff responsibility for working with lactating mothers include what? - Answer:1. Training
2. Minimum of 20 hours of training
3. 3 hours of competency verification
What are the indications for providing supplementation other than breast milk? - Answer:1. Medical
condition
2. Parents request after being informed of consequences
Protocol for calculating Baby's daily needs - Answer:Baby's weight x 2.5 (2.7 or 3.0 if Baby needs to catch
up weight) = daily ounces. PCP decides what the multiplier is!!!
What should be assessed 3-5 days after birth by PCP? - Answer:Hydration (elimination patterns)
Body weight (no more than 7% loss)
,Observe Feeding
Maternal or infant issues
What is a CLC? - Answer:Nationally recognized designation awarded by the ALPP. Practice parameters
are designated by professional scope of practice.
How many stools per day should a breast fed newborn have? - Answer:4, some yellow by day 4.
When should a baby be back to birth weight? - Answer:12-14 days post birth
How much weight should a baby gain daily? - Answer:Approximately 1 ounce
Why do women supplement with formula when there is no medical need? - Answer:1. Lack of
preparation for what the newborn period would be like.
2. Lack of timely interventions
Alveoli - Answer:Small glands in the breast that produce milk
At-Breast Supplementer - Answer:a device that allows a supplement to be given while a baby is actively
nursing at the breast,
ex: Supplement Nursing System
Atopy - Answer:hypersensitive or allergic state involving an inherited predisposition
What is the BFHI Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative - Answer:Initiative by UNICEF and WHO (1991) to
support breastfeeding in hospitals and maternity centers. "The 10 Steps".
Unicef. Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. Available online:
http://www.unicef.org/programme/breastfeeding/baby.htm.
Bilirubin - Answer:an orange-yellow pigment formed in the liver by the breakdown of hemoglobin and
excreted in bile.
, CCK (cholecystokinin) - Answer:Hormone that regulates the emptying of the gallbladder and secretion of
enzymes by the pancreas.
Colostrum - Answer:Thick, milky fluid secreted by the breast during pregnancy and during the first days
after birth before lactation begins. Causes a laxative effect which helps the baby pass meconium.
Coryllos type - Answer:Classification system for anklyloglossia (tongue-tie)
Dancer Hand Position - Answer:Technique used to support Baby's chin and mother's breast. Use Thumb
and index finger under chin, remaining 3 fingers to support breast.
Alveolar Cells - Answer:found in the walls of the alveoli, simple squamous epithelial cells, main sites of
gas exchange
myoepithelial cells - Answer:contract in response to stimulation by sympathetic nervous system and
squeeze milk up the duct
Montgomery glands - Answer:Bumps on breasts (Look like goosebumps)
Produce a unique blend of milk and sebum (skin oil)
Modern study of the structure of the breast reveals what? - Answer:-Fat is mixed throughout the breast
-Uneven spacing of the ducts
-3-5 functioning nipple pores (May have 5-9, but not all work)
-No lactiferous sinus
What are the 2 hormones pathways that control lactation? - Answer:Prolactin and Oxytocin
Prolactin (4 details related to milk production) - Answer:1. is triggered by touch (pregnant and non
pregnant women). Higher levels when stimulating breast/nipples vs breast alone.
2. Lengthening time between feeding leads to lower baseline levels. (Weaning)
