This program is for... anyone who has an interest in supporting infant feeding to be successful, including Doctors/Midwives/Health Visitors...Osteos/Chiros/ Maternity Nurses...Birth Workers/Doulas
Start your journey as an Infant Feeding Coach™
Start your journey as an Infant Feeding Coach™
What is an Infant Feeding Coach™?
An Infant Feeding Coach™ (IFC) is a compassionate and knowledgeable professional who specialises in supporting parents and caregivers on their infant feeding journey, from before birth through to the fourth trimester.
With a deep understanding of infant feeding, and the unique needs of each parent and baby dyad, an Infant Feeding Coach™ provides personalised guidance and education to help parents navigate the challenges and joys of their baby's feeding experience.Whether it's breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, or addressing feeding difficulties, an IFC offers evidence-based strategies, practical tips, and emotional support to empower parents in making informed decisions and fostering a positive feeding relationship with their infants.
With their expertise and nurturing approach, an IFC works with families offering guidance and confidence in providing the best care for their babies' nutritional needs.
Whether you are new to infant feeding, or a more experienced practitioner, this program will empower you with the confidence to provide optimal feeding support to the families you serve, elevating your knowledge to specialist status around Infant Feeding, and the Fourth Trimester.
When you sign up to train as an Infant Feeding Coach™, you will automatically become part of 'The Infant Feeding Collective', a heart centred community of likeminded people, looking to provide new families with the very best support and information.
Serve your clients at a much higher level.
Elevate your knowledge and earning potential.
Learn how to avoid the many mistakes that other health professionals make when supporting nursing families.
How is the program delivered?
Online Distance Learning
Live & Pre-recorded
The program is delivered through a combination of compulsory, live interactive sessions and access to pre-recorded content. Each month, new modules containing bite-sized teaching sessions are released. These modules are designed to provide comprehensive knowledge and cover various aspects of the subject matter. Students can access the module content at their convenience, allowing for flexible learning and the ability to study at their own pace.
Regular Assessments and Evaluations
Each module requires students to undertake regular assessments and evaluations to gauge their understanding and identify areas for improvement.
These assessments are in the form of three assessed workbooks, practical assignments, and module quizzes. By successfully completing these assessments, students demonstrate their proficiency and progress in the program.
Monthly Mentoring
Sessions
In addition to the online modules, the program includes compulsory monthly mentoring sessions. These sessions provide a valuable opportunity for students to receive personalised guidance and support from experienced mentors. During these sessions, students can ask questions, discuss challenges, and receive expert advice tailored to their specific needs. The mentoring sessions enhance the learning experience and provide valuable insights to help students progress in their journey.
Your Infant Feeding Coach Journey
IFC Training
At the end of the 16-week program, upon successful completion of all modules, assessments, and evaluations, students will have earned the qualification of Infant Feeding Coach™ (equivalent to Breastfeeding Counsellor).
This designation signifies your expertise and ability to provide support and guidance to individuals seeking assistance with breastfeeding.
This qualification is registerable with FEDANT.
Application and Practice
Throughout the year-long Infant Feeding Coach™ program, students are encouraged to apply their knowledge and practice what they have learned. This involves carrying out several case studies.
Students who have difficulty accessing case studies can consider the VIP option of attending The Infant Feeding and Tongue-tie clinic (Tunbridge Wells).
The clinic provides an alternative opportunity for students to gain practical experience and apply their knowledge in real-life scenarios.
Progress and Mastery
As students progress through the program, they have the opportunity to build on their knowledge with access to advanced masterclasses, expert-led evenings, cohort and virtual whole collective meet-ups.
These additional resources and events allow students to further enhance their understanding, learn from industry experts, and connect with a community of like-minded individuals.
This step focuses on continuous growth, mastery, and staying up-to-date with the latest developments in the field.
Re-certification
and ongoing Professional Development
To maintain your qualification, graduates are required to engage in continuous professional development (CPD). This may involve attending refresher courses, participating in advanced training programs, or staying updated with the latest research and best practices in the field.
Re-certification ensures that students continue to provide high-quality support and guidance to individuals seeking assistance with breastfeeding.
By following these steps and engaging in ongoing professional development, students can navigate their learning journey effectively, and continue to practice as a certified Infant Feeding Practitioner, continuing to grow and excel in their field.
Practitioners are required to reflect upon 5 suitable CPD activities a year, in addition to5 case study reflections.
For practitioners who are unable to obtain 5 case studies during the year, due to work or personal circumstances, refresher courses and clinic observation days will be available.
Working towards IBCLC
You may wish to use your Infant Feeding Coach™ education on your way towards becoming an IBCLC, this would usually be done through ‘Pathway 1: Recognised Health Professionals and Recognised Breastfeeding Support Counsellers.’
Pathway 1: IBCLC candidates must practise as a Recognised Health Professional or provide breastfeeding support through a Recognised Breastfeeding Support Counsellor Organisation. In the case of applicants who provide breastfeeding support through a Recognised Breastfeeding Support Counsellor Organisation, they must have completed the 14 subjects set forth in the Health Sciences Education Guide. Additionally, all Pathway 1 candidates must have the following:
- Minimum of 95 hours of lactation specific education, including five hours focused on communication skills, within the five years immediately prior to examination application.
- Minimum of 1000 hours of lactation specific clinical practice in an appropriate supervised setting within the five years immediately prior to examination application.
Clinical practice is required in an appropriate supervised setting such as the Infant Feeding Academy, within the five years immediately prior to examination application.
'Thank you Dee - you are the most brilliant and knowledgable educator I have come across - and I have sought countless courses in my time, on all aspects of midwifery - infant feeding in particular (including IBCLC education!)'.
Training to become an Infant Feeding Coach™
is for you if...
- You work with families who are expecting, or who already have a newborn infant, OR you want to start working in this field
- You are passionate about supporting families with accurate and up-to-date infant feeding information, so that you can support them to meet their infant feeding goals, whatever they may be
- You are prepared to speak up and ask for support where and when you need it to achieve your personal and professional goals
- You want to learn about more than just Breastfeeding, in order to be a truly holistic practitioner
- You are ready to dive into exploring parenting styles that support babies beyond birth, so that you can become the go to person in your field
- You are a life long student and a recognise that we should always be asking ourselves, 'What else do I need to know to support new families in the way that they deserve?'
Families need your support now, more than ever before...
Your full years membership includes...
-
The 16 week intensive Breastfeeding Counsellor/Infant Feeding Coach™ Accredited Training Program
- Twelve - Monthly supervison/mentoring themed sessions with Q&A over Zoom to answer all your questions (all sessions are recorded)
- Four - quarterly (additional) expert-led evening workshops
- A full years access to the IFA Hub - Royalty free support material for you and your own clients
- Membership to the Infant Feeding Coach™ Collective Facebook Community, for you to interact and be supported by other like minded professionals
The Infant Feeding Coach™ Program is taught by...
Dee Bell, Midwife, IBCLC and Specialist Tongue-tie Practitioner who has been supporting nursing dyads for over twenty years!
Dee Bell, Midwife, IBCLC and Specialist Tongue-tie Practitioner who has been supporting nursing dyads for over twenty years!
...and Midwife, IBCLC, and Instagram sensation, Olivia Hinge!
...and Midwife, IBCLC, and Instagram sensation, Olivia Hinge!
Take a sneaky peek at our program...
'By training to become an Infant Feeding Coach™ you are making a commitment to ensuring your knowledge is up-to-date, based around sound medical knowledge, and is truly person-centred.'
...if you work with pregnant couples or new parents and want to know how to support them to feed their new baby with confidence, then this program is for you!
'The Infant Feeding course is such an incredible course!! It is packed full of information, observation videos & resources about breastfeeding and bottle feeding infants. It also includes a really informative business module which is not to be missed. I loved every part of this course & becoming an IFC has massively benefited my patients at my Paediatric Osteopathy clinic. Dee is a superb teacher & her passion for infant feeding is contagious! She creates a supportive learning environment throughout the course where you feel part of a community from the start. I highly recommend it!'
Our core syllabus content ...
Module One:
BEFORE BIRTH
Steps to Success:
- Amazing Milk - The benefits of breastfeeding, anatomy of the breast, composition, nutritional value and immunology of breastmilk
- Understanding skin-to-skin - What, When, How and WHO!
- Colostrum Collection - Handexpressing and storage of colostrum and breastmilk
- A Birth Plan to Support Breastfeeding
Module Two:
NEW BORN NURSLINGS
Born to feed:
-
Birth and the initiation of Breastfeeding (Skin-to-skin and breast crawl)
-
Milk Transfer - Supply and Demand
-
Early and Frequent Feeding
- Hand Expressing and Giving Colostrum
Module Three:
THE FOURTH TRIMESTER
Secrets of the first 12 weeks:
- How Babies Breastfeed
- Positioning and Attachment
- Problems and Solutions - Understanding Breastfeeding Challenges
- Slings and Carriers - Understanding the Benefits of Carrying and it's Impact on Breastfeeding
Module Four:
BOUNTIFUL BUSINESS
Including:
- Starting out, or adding infant feeding to your existing business
- Join Birth, Baby & You as an Infant Feeding Coach
- Supporting your clients and mentorship
- Scope of Practice and referrals
Followed by our Advanced Practitioner Training ...
Post Graduate Advanced Training:
Masterclasses and Workshops
Beyond Birth:
- Introduction to Understanding Infant Tongue-tie
- Managing Slow-Weight Gain and Insufficient Milk Supply - Masterclass
- Low Milk Supply: Too little too late?
- Induced Lactation: When lactation doesn't necessarily follow birth
Over the duration of the course, you will be assisted to acquire the skills to empower families on their Infant feeding journey... Talking through real-life case studies and applying theory to practice.
The course is designed to fit around your other commitments, such as work and family life, BUT BEST OF ALL, you can start implementing your knowledge to support your clients immediately!
"Our teaching comes from a realistic, open-minded place but also deals with the emotional mists that surround birth and Infant Feeding Practices. We believe the purpose of this program is to elevate practitioner knowledge to support parents to feed and care for their babies in awareness and feel fully supported to achieve their breastfeeding goals."
If you are ready to do something different in your business that will make a transformational difference to postnatal women AND make you more money at the same time, then sign up now....
It's time to transform lives and support families to create positive stories for generations to come!
Fully Accredited Infant Feeding Coach™ Program Course starts 11th January 2024
With a full years' support within: The Infant Feeding Academy!
Select which option suits you best...
£1597
Whether you are new to infant feeding, or a more experienced practitioner, the IFC program will empower you to provide optimal feeding support to the families you serve, elevating your knowledge to specialist status around Infant Feeding and the Fourth Trimester (program meets over 45 hours of the IBLCE requirement for lactation specific education and is growing all the time).
£1897
PLUS
In-person Infant Feeding and Tongue-tie clinic observation/mentoring (Tunbridge Wells), with overnight accommodation. See how Dee works to solve infant feeding issues without unnecessary invasive procedures such as Frenulotomy.
And one-to-one session with eyes on your business.
£1497
Whether you are new to infant feeding, or a more experienced practitioner, the IFC program will empower you to provide optimal feeding support to the families you serve, elevating your knowledge to specialist status around Infant Feeding and the Fourth Trimester (program meets over 45 hours of the IBLCE requirement for lactation specific education and is growing all the time).
£1997
PLUS
In-person Infant Feeding and Tongue-tie clinic observation/mentoring (Tunbridge Wells), with overnight accommodation. See how Dee works to solve infant feeding issues without unnecessary invasive procedures such as Frenulotomy.
And one-to-one session with eyes on your business.
£2685
and Accredited Tongue-tie Assessor Award.
With a full year’s support and training, within The Infant Feeding Academy preparing you to work with expectant and new families.
PLUS
In-person Infant Feeding and Tongue-tie clinic observation/mentoring (Tunbridge Wells).
Hear what people are saying about this program...
Whether you are new to infant feeding, or a more experienced practitioner, this course will empower you with the confidence to provide optimal feeding support to the families you serve, elevating your knowledge to specialist status around Infant Feeding, and the Fourth Trimester.
'As a doula and antenatal teacher I have spent the last 17 years supporting families bring their babies into the world and establish breastfeeding. This course has not only inspired me to keep doing what I do, but has filled so many gaps in my knowledge. I've learnt so much, and am already using a lot of this new knowledge with birth and postnatal clients. It's absolutely fantastic to see parents' faces when they understand for the first time why there baby should be kept with them, undisturbed after birth until they've had their first feed, or how milk production works and how to ensure they have a good milk supply. There's so much great information here to share and I am so very thankful that I am doing this course and to Dee for being such a supportive and brilliant instructor!'
Our Infant Feeding Coach Program™ is an online course which consists of a mixture of live and self directed learning elements:
- A 16-week program with unlimited access to pre-recorded sessions, so that you can take the lessons at your own pace
- 13 live interactive teaching sessions (90% attendance required. All sessions are recorded for you to review or catch up with)
- Membership to the Infant Feeding Coach Collective Facebook community, for you to interact and be supported by other like minded professionals
- Workbook and course materials, designed specifically to support and intergrate your learning
- Small group supervion and mentoring calls to answer specific questions and provide accountability and community
- Bonus workshops from leading experts, such as Olivia Hinge (IBCLC), Gabi Parkam (LGBQT+)
- Business module to support setting up your Infant Feeding Coaching Business and manage your business finances
- A full years access to the IFA Hub - Royalty free support material for you and your own clients
- Collaboration with other Perinatal Practitioners
If you are ready to do something different in your business that will make a transformational difference to postnatal women AND make you more money at the same time, sign up now!
F.A.Q.
Frequently asked questions about our Infant Feeding Coach™ Program:
No you don’t need any previous qualifications, we train from beginner through to experts in the field of Infant Feeding. However, this is an accredited course, and therefore written course work is required to a reasonable academic level (if you are not sure if you meet this criteria, please just drop us and email and we will book in a clarity call for you to explore whether this is the right course for you).
Yes of course, if you would like to discuss if the program is a good fit for you, then please email us at info@theinfantfeedingacademy.co.uk
Yes! We would be happy to send you out the schedule.
If you are unable to make one or two of the live sessions, please just let us know and we will see if we can make alternative arrangements for you.
please email us at info@theinfantfeedingacademy.co.uk
We want to ensure this program is right for you, please click here to complete the short application form and we will be in touch.
We have 13 live sessions and we ask you aim to attend all of them. This program provides an accredited qualification, and therefore we need to ensure you are engaging and understanding the program content before we award the Infant Feeding Coach™ title. We do however understand that sometimes life gets in the way, so ask that you try to miss no more than 1 live session during the program. Recordings of all the live sessions are available online within a few days.
We offer one scholarship place on each of our programs to anyone supporting infant feeding as part of their NHS role If you would like to apply for the scholarship place, please click here.
We also provide a 6 and 12-month payment plan, in order for you to spread your payments over the year.
Absolutely not!
This is one of the biggest differences between our and other course providers such as NCT.
We do not believe that you need to have breastfed yourself in order to be an amazing Infant Feeding Coach™
Many of our IFC’s have not breastfed their own children for a variety of reasons. Or may not have had children themselves
The 16 week program provides 20 hours of group work and approximately 30-35 hours of self-study.
You will also be asked to read one of the recommended reading books.
The advanced training, following completion of the 16 week course, provides a minimum 12 hours supervised/mentored themed sessions with general Q&A, and 12 hours of masterclasses, expert led workshops and advanced learning materials.
There are 20 hours of group work and 30-35 hours of self-study. The workbooks cover many aspects of the OPS themes: A=Communication and patient partnership, B=Knowledge, skills and performance, C=Safety and quality in practice, D=Professionalism
In addition to this you will be asked to read one of the recommended reading books.
This is a distance learning, blended program consisting of live and pre-recorded online lessons.
The course contains slide presentations, videos, quizzes, practical assignments and marked workbooks, as well as live tutorials (over zoom).
Laptop or tablet, printer, pens and notebooks, internet access/WiFi and a zoom account.
You will be able to provide an infant feeding support service, either as an add-on to your current practice, or as a service in it’s own right. This may be provided both antenatally and postnatally, including: The mechanics of breastfeeding and milk production, how to achieve optimal positioning and attachment, the signs of effective milk transfer, the importance of skin to skin contact, responsive feeding, bottle feeding, expressing, creating a feeding plan, feeding assessment, supporting challenges such as sore nipples/nipple damage, mastitis, thrush, engorgement, insufficient milk supply, and more
Yes, absolutely! We not only train you in infant feeding support (please see above) but we also have a business module as part of the program to get you off to a good start.
Yes, you will be able to support families both one-to-one and in a group environment.
You will attend the Birth, Baby & You Infant Feeding & Tongue-tie Clinic in Tunbridge Wells and work along side Dee Bell RM IBCLC and Specialist Tongue-tie Practitioner throughout a clinic day, assessing and supporting 5 feeding dyads.
Accommodation is also available on request.
We have both 6 and 12 month payment plans available, so you are able to spread the payments for the program.
You will also be able to put your new skills into practice from the get go to enable you to increase your income and see the rewards immediately.
We want to be sure that this is absolutely the right program for you, please fill in the form below and we will book in a call.
