Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Training Certification Program
A course in the basics of peer lactation support for home visitors, prenatal clinic staff, nannies, students and others with an interest in maternal-child health, and more. Emphasis is on working with low-income families of color in the home, clinic or community setting.
Join our next live online workshop on the Zoom Meeting platform or in-person in Los Angeles County, CA.
This course can be brought to your agency as in-service training for staff virtually over Zoom or on location at your site.
Students in 2013 course practicing breastfeeding counseling skills.
Next Course:
WINTER, 2025
PASADENA, CA
Interested? Contact: Cordelia Hanna
WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAY ABOUT THIS COURSE:
“This class exceeded my expectations and left me wanting more! I was amazed to learn about the amazing newborn and what she is capable of doing right out of the womb!”
– Salkana S., participant in the October 2011 course
“After taking this course, I plan to embrace my ancestor’s cultural traditions for mothering and breastfeeding and to share the light of women’s wisdom with future generations.”
– Milagra J., participant in the February 2011 course
Originally developed in 2002 for the Pasadena Public Health Department Black Infant Health Program, this 20-hour training will provide the basics of providing support to mothers who want to breastfeed and addressing barriers to breastfeeding. The interactive 3-day 24-hour course covers cultural awareness, communication and counseling skills, the importance of parental bonding and attachment, and positioning the baby at the breast. These are just a few of the things you will learn. No prior experience is needed!
Date of Course: Winter, 2025 (Exact dates TBA).
Day and Time of Course: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. There will be a 30-minute lunch each day.
Format: This course will be offered on the Zoom Meeting platform or in-person. Class is conducted in English, with English materials. We can provide materials and instructor in Spanish if requested.
Individual Rate: $1000.00 per person
Early Bird Rate: $900.00 per person. Early bird begins 3 months prior to course start and ends two months prior.
Group Discount Rate: $750.00 per person for 4-10 people registering together from same agency or four friends registering together.
Payment Plan Option: $100.00 due at registration. Balance is due 1 week prior to start of course. Please contact Cordelia Hanna to make payment arrangements.
Scholarships: We offer scholarships for low-income persons of color. Please contact Cordelia Hanna or call (626) 388-2191 ext. 1 for an application and interview.
Contact us if you require CEUs for nurses, health educators and others. Additional fees required.
TRAINING DESCRIPTION
Purpose of the Course
The purpose of this course is to give skills and knowledge to persons who want to support mothers in breastfeeding. Participants will also learn how to address barriers to breastfeeding initiation
and duration.
Increasing breastfeeding initiation and duration in the United States is one of the Healthy People 2030 objectives for the public’s health. Breastfeeding has numerous benefits for mothers and children including lowering rates of infant mortality and morbidity, enhances bonding between mother and infant, and decreases women’s risk of breast, cervical and uterine cancer.
INTENDED AUDIENCE
We encourage persons of color to attend this workshop as the focus of the course is on working with low-income families of color.
- Perinatal Clinic Staff
- Case Managers
- Health Educators
- Home Visitors
- Babysitters and Nannies
- Mothers and Grandmothers
- Early Childhood Educators
- Family Health Advocates
- WIC Workers
- Birth Doulas
- Postpartum Doulas
- Childbirth Educators
- Student Midwives
- Nursing Students
- Public Health Students
- Medical Students
- LPNs, LVNs and CNAs
- Registered Nurses
- Common cultural biases and differences and their impact upon the counselor-client relationship.
- Three Step Strategy for communication and lactation counseling.
- Benefits of breastfeeding to infants and mothers, fathers and society.
- The father’s support in breastfeeding success
- Social, political and economic reasons why women don’t breastfeed.
- Nutritional components of breastmilk.
- Types and Phases of Breastmilk
- Anatomical structures of the lactating breast and the role of hormones in the physiology of breastfeeding.
- Helping mothers manage breastfeeding.
- Getting Moms Started: Positioning the Baby at the Breast.
- Common problems encountered by breastfeeding mothers and remedies for these problems.
- Dealing with Mother-Infant Separation: Pumping and Storage of Breastmilk and Describe Safe Milk Handling guidelines.
- Breastfeeding in Special Situations (adoption, prematurity, etc.)….and much, much more!
CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Within ONE YEAR of completing the course, participants desiring certification will:
1. Pass written certification exam with score of 80%. May be taken twice if passing score is not achieved. Exam is available in Spanish or English. It is an open-book, take-home exam, based on the PowerPoint and Student Manual.
2. Assist three mothers with lactation support and provide three self-reports and three client reports. Reporting formswill be provided.
3. Prepare a breastfeeding community resource list for clients.
Note: if requirements are not met within 1 year of course, you must retake the course.
RECERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
1. Annual re-certification fee is $100.00 payable at: https://paypalme/hmhba
2. Attend a seminar, workshop or conference or watch a film about breastfeeding on any topic related to lactation; or:
3. Read a peer-reviewed journal article (within past 3 years) on any topic related to lactation; AND
4. Write a 2-3 page report on what you learned in the workshop or conference or from the article or film and how it is important to the field of Breastfeeding Counseling or Lactation Education. Describe how you will integrate this new information into your Breastfeeding Peer Counselor practice. Use Ariel or Times New Roman font size 11 or 12, and use APA formatting. Include references in APA format.
You will receive a 200-page manual for the course. This manual is in English. Spanish manual can be provided upon request. Other training materials are the PowerPoint for the class. (Available in Spanish upon request).
The Breastfeeding Answer Book (not included in tuition; available for purchase from Le Leche League International or used copies can be found on many online bookstores. We recommend you purchase this book prior to the training.
COURSE LEADERS AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS
Cordelia Hanna, MPH, CHES, ICCE, CLE, CBA- Principal Course Leader (English Course), Curriculum Developer
Email:Cordelia.Hanna@Motherbabysupport.net
Cordelia Hanna has been working in the field of maternity care for over 34 years. She obtained her Master’s in Public Health (MPH) in Health Education and Promotion/Maternal Child Health from Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California in 2008, and her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Dance from Indiana University, Bloomington in 1986. Currently, Cordelia is pursuing her doctorate in Health Psychology at Walden University.
Cordelia is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), which is the gold standard for professional health educators accredited by NCHEC. She is also an ICEA-Certified Childbirth Educator, CAPPA-Certified Lactation Educator, and ALACE-Certified Birth Assistant. Since 1991, Cordelia has taught Childbirth Preparation Classes and Breastfeeding Education to hundreds of couples in private practice, clinics, public health, hospital, and community settings.
As an apprenticeship-trained midwife, Cordelia has worked as an Assistant Midwife and Labor Companion/Monitrice in homes, birth centers, and hospitals throughout Los Angeles County and Oregon since 1991.
Cordelia is passionate about promoting indigenous health promoters, such as breastfeeding peer counselors, doulas, and community midwives, to address ethnic health disparities such as low rates of breastfeeding, high rates of prematurity cesarean section, and maternal and infant mortality occurring in communities of color. She thinks about maternal-child health globally and acts locally.
Cordelia worked as a Perinatal Health Educator and Promoter for The Pasadena Public Health Department Black Infant Health Program from 2002-2012, a California Department of Health-funded program designed to reduce African-American/Black perinatal health disparities. Along with her mentor and collaborator, the late Ms. Geraldine Perry-Williams, PHN, MSN, CD, CLE, LCCE, she initiated and managed a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program and established the very first Community-Based Doula Program for African-American/Black families in Los Angeles County. This program succeeded in lowering the high rates of infant mortality and cesarean section among Pasadena’s African-American population.
For four years, from 2014 to 2019, Cordelia worked with Esperanza Community Housing Corporation’s Promatora de Salud/Community Health Worker Program, providing training in perinatal health and Doula support for Community Health Promoters/Promatores de Salud working in South Los Angeles. The region has one of the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality due to negative social determinants of health.
Cordelia is a mother of two home-born, breastfed, and attachment-parented children who are now bright and capable young adults. She is also a grandmother of two granddaughters and a grandson. Her life partner is from Ghana, West Africa, and they enjoy an international lifestyle spanning two continents.
Tai Carson, BA, CPSS, CPD, CMA
Tai is a retired midwife with over 35 years experience who has attended over 700 births. She is the Coordinator of Happy Mama Healthy Baby’s Nurturing Roots Postpartum Doula Service for Black Families. Born and raised in Los Angeles she comes from a mixed heritage of African, Asian, and European backgrounds. Tai has over three decades of experience in maternity and newborn care, as well as general healthcare. She currently focuses on postpartum doula support and palliative care. Ms. Carson has a Bachelor’s degree in Health and Human Services from California State University, Los Angeles, along with an Associate’s Certificate in Counseling Psychology. Additionally, she is a Registered Medical Assistant in Washington State, where she worked at a rural primary health clinic.Tai is a certified Postpartum Doula, Certified Perinatal Support Specialist, Certified Childbirth Educator. From 1999 to 2005, she was the owner/midwife at The Hollywood Birth Center in Los Angeles, where she trained several apprentices and doulas. She has worked in home birth and birth center midwifery practices in Washington, Los Angeles, and Mt. Shasta, California. As a perinatal health educator, Tai served as a trainer for Birth Emergency Skills Training (B.E.S.T.) and co-conducted Happy Mama Healthy Baby Alliance’s Perinatal Support Specialist Training at Esperanza Community Housing Corporation’s Promotora de Salud Program from 2013 to 2015. “As a woman of color, doula, health educator, midwife and a maternal-infant health advocate, I am dedicated to eradicating health disparities among childbearing women of color in my community. I am thrilled to work on programs aimed at improving perinatal health inequities,” says Ms. Carson.
INSTRUCTORA DE ESPAÑOL/ SPANISH COURSE LEADER
Ines “Augie” Rigual, CD, CPD, IBCLC, LCCE
Email: augiedoula@yahoo.com
Ines “Augie” Rigual, LCCE, CD, CPD, IBCLC
Augie Rigual es Doula Avanzada de DONA y está certificada con DONA International desde hace 15 años, habiendo trabajado también en el Comité de Certificación de DONA International. Implementó y supervisó un programa de doulas comunitarias en el condado de Osceola, Florida, durante seis años a través de una subvención del Fondo Onza de Prevención de Florida, habiendo logrado la meta de reducir la tasa de cesáreas en un 14 % durante los primeros dos años en dos hospitales. en el condado A través de este programa comunitario de doulas, brindaron educación sobre el parto y servicios de doulas a las reclusas de la cárcel del condado de Osceola en Florida. Augie se convirtió en capacitadora de doulas de nacimiento en 2013 y ha estado ofreciendo capacitaciones principalmente en Puerto Rico, donde dos de los hospitales ya han capacitado a la mayoría de sus enfermeras de trabajo de parto y parto en un esfuerzo por reducir las tasas de cesáreas del hospital. Estas capacitaciones en hospitales han incluido médicos que han sido educados sobre lo que realmente es una doula y entienden el trabajo de la doula. Se ha capacitado en la República Dominicana, donde un médico obstetra se capacitó y ahora es una entrenadora de DONA Doula para su país. Augie ha estado ofreciendo capacitaciones de DONA Birth Doula en español en otros estados que tienen grandes comunidades hispanas como Utah y Carolina del Norte. Como educadora de parto de Lamaze durante los últimos 18 años, Augie ofrece clases de educación de parto en inglés y español semanalmente para dos departamentos de salud del condado en Florida. En 2010, Augie se certificó como IBCLC y se recertificó en 2015. Estableció el Grupo de Posparto CAFÉ en el Hospital Winnie Palmer para Mujeres y Bebés y este programa se extendió al Departamento de Salud del Condado de Osceola, Florida, donde el grupo todavía se reúne todos los miércoles por la mañana. . El CAFÉ no solo ofrece apoyo para la lactancia sino también apoyo posparto en general y se ha convertido en el lugar donde las mamás sienten que pueden ayudar a otras mamás y sentirse bien consigo mismas. CAFÉ significa Compasión, Apoyo (Apoyo), Fe y Educación. Augie es el especialista en programas de la Coalición Healthy Start del condado de Osceola, Florida.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellation Policy
Cancellation must be made in writing by deadline (30 days prior to start of course). Tuition will be reimbursed less $50.00 administrative fee if notification received by this date. After this date, there will be no refunds. However in extenuating circumstances such as documented illness or emergency, the tuition is fully transferable to another person or training (this course or another topic); credit is good for the amount of training. If course registering into is higher price, the additional balance will be required. If it is a lesser price, there will not be any refund of balance. Credit will be honored for one year from the training. If not used by that time, the credit will expire.
Special Cancellation Policy for Doulas and Midwives:
If you are “on call” and have a birth during the training, please notify instructor as soon as possible that you will not be attending. The full tuition will be transferred to another person, or different training (this course or another topic) to be used within one year of the training date. If the course you are registering into is higher price, the additional balance will be required. If it is a lesser price, there will not be any refund of balance.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER, CONTACT:
Cordelia Hanna, MPH, CHES, ICCE, CLE, CBA
Call: (626) 388-2191 ext. 1 or Email her at: Cordelia.Hanna@motherbabysupport.net