Norlander Hannah shares her career as an IBCLC

Norlander Hannah trained between 2004 and 2006 and she now works as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. This year, she returns to Norland to deliver a specialist infant feeding course to graduate Norlanders as part of its continuous professional development (CPD) programme. We caught up with Hannah to hear more about her journey since graduating as a Norland Nanny.

“My name is Hannah, and I studied at Norland in Bath from 2004 to 2006, and then completed my probationary year (which is now the Newly Qualified Nanny year) in Cambridge, before returning to Kent to continue nannying.

“Throughout my time at Norland, I learned a lot and made some wonderful friends. My highlights included my newborn placement at the Royal United Hospital, in Bath, where we were able to watch and learn from the midwives on the ward as well as support the new families. It was an incredible privilege to be able to work with families at such a vulnerable and raw time.

“Another highlight was my time with the family team at First Steps. During this placement, we planned and evaluated groups for families, and provided learning opportunities around child development, language acquisition and age-appropriate activities for families and carers. This experience really opened my eyes to other ways in which I could use my Norland qualifications, and inspired me to spend some time working as a community involvement worker in a children’s centre after my time nannying.

“At the time of my training there was also a documentary being made about Norlanders called Nanny School, which was really fun and a completely unique experience. The film company took my boyfriend (now husband!) and me out for dinner and filmed the whole thing. I remember we had to film the scene of him arriving at our student house for the weekend again and again to get it right.

Norlander Hannah as part of a breastfeeding support group

Lessons from Norland

“Norland taught me how to work hard and to take pride in all that I do.”

“The Norland motto of ‘Love Never Faileth’ motivates me and stays with me when I’m working with families, even now. In my role as a lactation consultant, it’s so important that I show families empathy and try to understand their priorities with feeding in order to support them appropriately. No two feeding journeys are the same, and it’s definitely not a case of one size fits all.

“There’s a skill in knowing which tools are appropriate to use at what time when supporting a family, which is similar to working with different families as an early years practitioner.

“As a qualified Norland Nanny, I have a responsibility to uphold Norland’s reputation by reflecting the Code of Professional Responsibilities in everything I do, including when speaking with parents or other professionals. The qualifications we receive, and the Norland name, are so highly regarded and respected. Being a Norlander has definitely opened doors for me, and I feel proud to tell people that I’m a Norlander.

Norlander Hannah Croft smiling to camera in outdoor scene

Current role and specialism

“Once I’d completed my probationary year after Norland, I continued to nanny for a few years before taking a job as a community involvement worker in a Sure Start children’s centre. My role was to support families with young children, including those with social services involvement. The aim was to help families learn about promoting child development and to support keeping families together through the social care system.

“I then had my own children (my daughter is now 12, and my son is 9) and thought that it would be a breeze. Having had lots of experience with other people’s children, I thought surely my own would be easy. In fact, I really struggled with breastfeeding them both, which came as a massive shock and got me off to a shaky start with motherhood.

“These experiences made me realise why feeding support is so important, and yet it is often overlooked as part of the pregnancy and postnatal process.

“My current job is, in essence, to help families with feeding their babies. I help with antenatal information about feeding and also support families once their babies are born. The role of an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) is varied, and covers everything from pregnancy, overcoming feeding issues, starting solids, navigating teething, and the mother’s return to work, right up to weaning an older child and tandem feeding.

“Initially, I trained as a peer supporter and volunteered at weekly feeding support groups. I absolutely loved it, and decided to become a breastfeeding counsellor by training through one of the UK charities. I loved the role, but this too was mostly voluntary, and I could see there was potential to be able to make a career from this newfound passion.

“I began the process of training to be an IBCLC. It was a lengthy process with lots of eligibility criteria to meet before I could apply to sit the four-hour exam. I had to record 1,000 hours of clinical support, 90 hours of lactation-specific education and as well as learning 14 health science subjects.

“I passed the exam just before my little boy started school.

“Now, I have my own private practice, which I’ve been running for six years, offering consultations to families, both in person and online. Alongside this I run three weekly breastfeeding support groups in Kent. I run workshops on preparing to feed your baby, starting solids and returning to work, among other subjects.

“In my current role, every day is a bit different! Recently, for example, I have been:

visiting a mum with a new baby and assisting her with positioning and attachment to help her have her first comfortable breastfeed
speaking with a family via Zoom about their baby’s reflux issues and how we can optimise breast or bottle feeding to help the baby
talking to an expectant mother who’s been diagnosed with gestational diabetes about collecting some colostrum in the last few weeks of pregnancy to feed her baby once they’re born if breastfeeding gets off to a tricky start, and advising her on how she can protect her milk supply
supporting a mum who’s returning to work and keen to know how to breastfeed wherever possible due to the continued health benefits for both baby and mother
working with a mother who’s increasing her milk supply due to baby’s poor weight gain
supporting a family to navigate which medications are safe to take to treat a mother’s ongoing medical condition while she continues to breastfeed
discussing starting solid foods
working with babies with faltering growth – putting feeding plans in place and keeping in contact with the family to monitor how things are going, and how we need to adapt the plan as things change.

Norlander Hannah Croft contact information and social handle graphic

The Norland training and how it has impacted Hannah’s practice

“The breadth and depth of understanding of child development that I gained from studying at Norland has stood me in good stead and given me knowledge and skills that I use in my role today, both as an IBCLC and as a mother too.

“Being taught about the importance of reflective practice, something that is highlighted throughout the entire course at Norland, has undoubtedly been helpful too. I strive to be the best professional I can be and often reflect on my practice and what I can do better.

“Norlanders have the responsibility of upholding the reputation of Norland – all those who have been before us, and those to come.

“Being evidence based and current in your practice is also a crucial part of being a Norlander. Keeping your skills up to date gives you credibility and confidence as a practitioner. As an IBCLC as well as a Norlander, I have to stay abreast of research and evidence, and I need to complete a certain amount of hours of ongoing education in order to recertify every five years, so this is a big part of what I do. Keeping up to date is just so important. Time moves on, and we learn more about best practice.

“Norland students and graduates can really set themselves apart by reading journals and attending conferences, in order to be the most competent, rounded professionals they can be.

“This of course takes time, money and dedication, but in doing so, you remain a credible practitioner, and you can be confident that you are supporting families with the most up-to-date research and evidence.

“I’m thrilled to be working with Norland to offer students a CPD course on infant feeding. This is a comprehensive overview that will equip Norlanders to support families however they decide to feed their babies, and provide knowledge about who to refer on to.”

As Norlanders, our graduates have access to lifelong support, which includes our in-house employment agency, the opportunity to join the Professional Association of Norlanders and the chance to access continuous professional development training programmes, including a CPD course with Hannah on infant feeding. Find out more about CPD opportunities for Norland graduates on our career pathways page. If you’re a Norlander, you can register for this session and further CPD training, by visiting our alumni page.