Mentoring
Guidance
Teaching

For Pathway 3 IBCLC Candidates who are looking for a clinical mentor.  Mentorship is offered at $15/hour.  You will start by shadowing visits and then move into different levels of participation in client visits.  Candidates are taken on as a case by case basis.  There is no fee for Candidates who are a part of underrepresented communities (BIPOC, LGBTQIA+) to help reduce barriers towards IBCLC certification.

Prerequisite criteria to be completed prior to working with me: 

•     Must have at least 45 hours of lactation education, including

  • Basic Life Support 

  • Occupational Safety 

  • Medical Documentation 

  • Medical Terminology 

  • Professional Ethics 

  • Universal Safety

•     Must have all college health and science credits

•     Must have current liability insurance

•     Must have 2 references as to previous experience working with babies and families

•     Must provide a lactation/perinatal field relevant resume

•     Must sign a BAA and have training on protecting client PHI
  
  If approved for mentorship, we will sign a Mentorship Contract. 
  Once contract is signed, you must: 

  • Continue working towards completion of all 90 hours of lactation education

  • Watch:

    • Special Panel Discussion: “Restorative Justice in the Birth and Breastfeeding Spaces”

    • “Community, Equity, and Breastfeeding: The Parental View on Lactation and Community Support”

    • Register here

    • Classes are free or you can earn CERPs by paying a small fee

  • Have your Candidacy Form approved by IBLCE before mentorship commences.​

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If you meet the prerequisites, we will arrange an interview to see if we are a compatible match.  Inquire here

If you have taken the IBCLC exam and are awaiting results, or have passed the exam and need more clinical exposure, I offer professional mentoring via visit shadowing at $15/hour.  Exposure to different styles, protocols, and practices is essential to professional development.

• Must provide a lactation/perinatal field relevant resume 

• Must sign a BAA

• Must have 2 references as to previous experience working with babies and families- if you were Pathway 3 please provide Mentor contact info.

• Professional mentors who also wish to receive individualized professional guidance should book a session separately.

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Professional mentoring is provided on a case by case basis and will require an interview and once approved, a contract.  Please inquire here.

I also offer phone/virtual consults for IBCLCs who desire professional guidance, have clinical questions, or want to discuss business practices, social media, etc at my hourly rate of $200/hr.
This option would be appropriate for someone who:

• Wants to pick my brain about becoming an IBCLC

• Is an IBCLC looking for guidance on a tricky case or cases and have client permission to discuss the case

• Is an IBCLC looking to level up on certain skill sets

• Needs coaching on business or communication practices

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PLEASE NOTE: It's important to make sure that participants understand the nature of the information shared and their own responsibilities when utilizing it. The purpose of this guidance is to share my professional experience from the within the Perinatal Field over the last decade.  This should not be construed as official legal, business, or insurance advice.  The information discussed is a jumping off point for your own research, education, and practice development.  Kate DiMarco Ruck & The Parenting Studio, LLC assumes no responsibility for how the information you receive is used within your own practice.

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Please inquire about professional guidance here.

I'm happy to teach on a variety of subjects for IBCLCs, other lactation professionals, and doulas.

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• Inclusive Care Includes Formula

  • For too long IBCLCs have had the reputation of “Lactivists” who advocate for breastfeeding and human lactation at all costs.  What this attitude can cost is their reputation, clients, and access to any human milk.  Artificial infant milk is a reality for many families we work with, and that choice should be treated with respect and not as a tragedy.  Formula feeding families deserve to have access to skilled and compassionate infant feeding care, just as much as breast/chest/bodyfeeding families. 
     

• Creating Compassionate Care Plans​

  • Learn how to elegantly communicate with your ​clients and tell them 

    • What happened in the visit​

    • Your assessment

    • Your suggestions to help them reach their goals

    • Evidence to support your plan

    • Necessary resources
       

•  Health Care Provider Reports and Generate Referrals from within your community​​

  • ​How to write, efficient, effective, and informative doctor's reports to advocate for your clients.  How to create a community of referral sources and create more business for your practice and help more families with lactation.
     

• Infant Formula Safety: A Doula's Role

  • How can you help keep your clients safe?
     

• Collaboration = IBCLC ASAP

  • ​How NYLCA established a free referral line to get families clinical care in a timely manner.  

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Please inquire here regarding speaking and teaching.