Data Protection and your privacy

In order to provide my service I will require personal data and as an IBCLC I am obligated to protect your confidentiality and keep your information secure. The information I may require (but is not limited to) could be related to your personal health, your pregnancy, your birth experience and the overall health of you and your infant (if I am seeing you postnatally). The reason I will be requiring this data is because there may be factors that are relevant to your current or potential breastfeeding challenges. As well as asking about your personal health as described above, I will also be requiring your infant’s name and date of birth (if I am seeing you postnatally), and your name, address and contact details. The information I will keep will only be that which has been disclosed to me by yourself. Your data will be stored on my business laptop / external hard drive and only accessible by myself.

It is your right to choose who will be present at our antenatal or postnatal consultation but you will inform me prior to my attendance if there is a subject you do not wish to discuss in front of them. 

After our consultation I will write a report to summarise our appointment (both antenatal and postnatal consultations) and this will be sent to you via email with your consent in the knowledge that emailing is not an inherently secure means of contact. If you do not wish to receive this report via email then please let me know. I shall send you this report within 48 hours of our appointment. 

You have the right for any information within your report to be corrected or deleted (where appropriate) and you have the right to request access to information that I keep about you or your infant. If you are not happy with the way that your data is managed then you have the right to complain. Information on your rights within Data Protection including access to your records and how to make complaints can be found at: https://ico.org.uk/

Depending on the outcome of our appointment it may be that I contact other members of your Maternity Team (if I’m seeing you antenatally) or your infant’s health care team (if I am seeing you postnatally). No information will be shared without your consent unless it is for Safe Guarding purposes or due to concern for either yours or your baby’s welfare. 

Alongside emails, I also use text messages, WhatsApp and telephone calls to communicate with my clients. Any videos/images that are sent to me via WhatsApp will be immediately deleted after I have viewed them to prevent them being seen by anybody else. I will leave voicemails where necessary if a phone call isn’t answered but my messages will not include any personal or identifying information. As part of my follow-up care after postnatal Consultations I will speak to any primary carer (parent or another primary carer as named by the mother)  on the phone unless it is specifically stated by the mother that I am only to talk to her. 

If there are any means of communication you do not wish me to use then you will inform me. You will also inform me if you do not want me to communicate with any other primary carers on the phone.

For postnatal consultations you agree for me to store your password-protected data for 25 years as per the legal requirements of Data Protection and Child Health Records. 

For reflection on my practice or professional development I may discuss your case with other IBCLCs but all identifiable details will be removed and pseudonyms will be used. 

Any feedback that is left on my website or social media accounts will not contain any identifiable details about you or your infant.

Our Professional Contract

Postnatal Consultations: Once we have provisionally agreed upon an appointment I shall email you with your total Consultation fee and also to request information from you relating to your baby, your pregnancy, your birth and your feeding experience so far. As provisional appointments cannot be held open, if I have not received a response from you within 24 hours then I shall assume you decided to no longer proceed with the booking and therefore the appointment slot will be made available again to other enquiries.

My antenatal and postnatal appointment slots are available for up to two hours if that level of education/support is required but if the Consultation does not require that length of time the standard charge will still apply.  Alternatively, if the Consultation exceeds two hours due to the nature of the case there will be no extra charge. 

Although I endeavour to improve your breastfeeding experience and help you achieve your breastfeeding goals, no set outcome can be guaranteed.

You understand that the involvement of other health professionals may be recommended or required in your infant’s care. If I have concerns about your baby’s weight gain, or another aspect of their health, I will liaise with their GP and Health Visitor to ensure their Primary Health Care Team are aware that ongoing support and monitoring is needed

You understand that although I have undergone certified training in tongue-tie awareness and  treatment options I am not a qualified Tongue-Tie practitioner and although I will perform an oral assessment on your infant and discuss my findings I cannot provide an official diagnosis. If I suspect there may be a restriction on your infant’s tongue movements I may suggest you see an appropriate practitioner to investigate this further and then it will be your choice if you wish to pursue this with the understanding that there may not be a restriction present. 

If our postnatal Consultation is taking place on the postnatal ward you have obtained consent from the Maternity team for me to come. If you have not obtained consent and I am turned away by Maternity Staff then no refund will be given. 

If I make any changes to your baby’s care on the postnatal ward in relation to feeding plans then the midwives can make adaptions as necessary as they continue to monitor your baby’s progress. I am happy for the midwifery team to contact me if they have any concerns they wish to discuss (this includes community midwives after your discharge).

If our appointment is taking place in my home you understand that siblings are not able to attend and you will bring with you all the baby equipment you may need: baby changing mats, formula or expressed milk, sterilised bottles, nipple shields or other feeding aids you have used, as well as your Maternity notes and your baby’s Red Child Health Record. 

Your baby’s safety and wellbeing are always my top priority. For this reason I ask that a parent or responsible adult stays with the baby throughout the Consultation.

You understand that as part of our consultation I may make physical contact with your breasts for reasons relating to assisting with latching, assessing blocked ducts or demonstrations of breast compressions. However, I will always obtain verbal consent first and you have the right to decline personal touch if that is your preference. 

You have the right to decline any intervention or feeding plan I may suggest.

If on the day of our planned Consultation I am symptomatic with any common cold symptoms I shall contact you to inform you and give you the option to either proceed with the visit or to rebook. I am happy to wear a face mask at your request if you wish to proceed.

Although I am comfortable around dogs I request that they be placed in another room during the Consultation for health and safety purposes, infection control and protection of my equipment.

Payments/Costing

Pre-payment is required for all Consultations.

During our correspondence / or on your invoice I will let you know by what date/time the payment must be made in order to secure the booking. Consultation slots cannot be held open so if payment is not received by the date/time requested I shall send a courtesy reminder email but if payment is still not received I will assume you no longer wish to proceed and the appointment slot will then be made available again to other enquiries.  In these circumstances I will send you a courtesy email to acknowledge that the provisional appointment has been cancelled. 

You understand there is a flat rate additional fee to cover mileage/travel time dependent on your postcode (please see the ‘Areas I cover’ page of my website).

If I am travelling to see you in hospital for postnatal support then travel fees will still apply and they will be based on the hospital’s postcode. Hospital parking costs will also be applied. 

If you need to cancel either an antenatal education session, or a postnatal support consultation you will receive a full refund if you provide me with 24 hours notice or more. If less than 24 hours notice is given then 50% of your cost will be refunded. 

If I need to cancel an appointment (either antenatally or postnatally) you have either the option to re-arrange another appointment with me or receive a full refund (if you choose to have a refund then you will need to email me with your bank details to enable me to make the payment).

There will be no added cost for any feeding aids that I may provide you with during the Consultation. 

Virtual follow-up support is provided for two weeks after all postnatal consultations via email, text and WhatsApp. If you would like a face to face follow-up visit then an hour long home visit can be arranged for £75 (travel charges will also apply).

Proof of the Consultation and Travel payments that I receive will need to be shared with my accountant at the end of each tax year via my bank statements. This information will only show your surname and no other identifying details relating to you or your baby will be visible.