Top 12 Lactation Consultant Skills to Put on Your Resume
Crafting an impressive resume as a lactation consultant means blending sharp clinical judgment with soft, steady people skills. Spotlight the strengths that matter in practice—evidence-based lactation care, clear teaching, calm reassurance—so parents feel supported and babies thrive.
Lactation Consultant Skills
- Breastfeeding Support
- Infant Nutrition
- Lactation Education
- Maternal Care
- Pumping Techniques
- Latch Assessment
- Milk Supply Management
- Emotional Support
- Pediatric Collaboration
- IBCLC Certification
- Safe Sleep Practices
- Electronic Health Records (EHR)
1. Breastfeeding Support
Breastfeeding support is the hands-on, mind-on guidance that helps a parent and baby make feeding work. It spans latch and positioning, troubleshooting pain or supply concerns, and steady encouragement when confidence wobbles.
Why It's Important
Good support protects milk transfer, reduces complications, and improves continuation rates. Parents feel heard, babies feed better, and early hurdles don’t snowball into weaning before they’re ready.
How to Improve Breastfeeding Support Skills
Keep learning: Stay current on latch mechanics, oral function, meds in lactation, and human milk science.
Meet families where they are: Early post-birth contact, flexible scheduling, in-person or virtual visits, and home or community outreach.
Individualize care: Tailored plans for each dyad—goals, barriers, stepwise strategies, follow-up.
Build community: Encourage peer groups and partner involvement to reinforce skills and confidence.
Advocate: Baby-friendly practices, workplace pumping space and time, humane parental leave policies.
Measure and refine: Track outcomes, ask for feedback, adjust the approach without ego.
How to Display Breastfeeding Support Skills on Your Resume
2. Infant Nutrition
Infant nutrition covers optimal feeding from birth through the first year—primarily human milk, then a thoughtful transition to complementary foods when developmentally ready.
Why It's Important
Right nutrients at the right time fuel brain growth, immune protection, and steady development. Clear guidance prevents confusion and keeps feeding safe and sustainable.
How to Improve Infant Nutrition Skills
Promote exclusive breastfeeding for about 6 months, starting as soon as possible after birth, with responsive, on-demand feeding.
Tackle challenges fast: Pain, poor latch, mastitis, slow weight gain—solve contributors to protect intake and supply.
Refine latch and positioning to optimize milk transfer and comfort.
Support maternal nutrition and hydration; counsel on daily vitamin D for breastfed infants per current guidance.
Teach safe formula feeding when needed—correct mixing, hygiene, storage, and responsive bottle feeding.
Guide solids around 6 months: iron-rich foods first, varied textures, allergen introduction when developmentally ready, and continue human milk.
Monitor growth and feeding cues, adjusting plans based on weight trends and developmental readiness.
How to Display Infant Nutrition Skills on Your Resume
3. Lactation Education
Lactation education is the structured teaching that turns complex physiology into practical, doable steps—techniques, expectations, problem-solving, and confidence-building.
Why It's Important
Clear, evidence-based education prevents small issues from becoming big ones. Families learn the why, the how, and the what-next.
How to Improve Lactation Education Skills
Stay evidence-driven: Update materials routinely; retire outdated myths.
Blend methods: Demos, visuals, handouts in plain language, brief videos, and hands-on practice.
Prioritize cultural humility: Respect traditions, explore preferences, co-create plans.
Use teach-back: Confirm understanding; fill gaps gently.
Leverage peer support to extend learning and normalize the messy middle.
Gather feedback and keep iterating—what lands, what doesn’t, what’s missing.
How to Display Lactation Education Skills on Your Resume
4. Maternal Care
Maternal care, here, means comprehensive, compassionate support for the breastfeeding parent—physical recovery, emotional well-being, and feeding success as a unified picture.
Why It's Important
Healthy parents feed better; supported parents continue longer. Care that honors both body and mind keeps breastfeeding sustainable.
How to Improve Maternal Care Skills
Enable early initiation and frequent, uninterrupted contact; room-in whenever possible.
Manage pain thoughtfully to protect latch practice and milk removal.
Screen for mood disorders and anxiety; build quick referral pathways.
Create individualized plans that factor birth events, medical conditions, goals, and support systems.
Ensure access to follow-up visits, community groups, pumps, and supplies.
How to Display Maternal Care Skills on Your Resume
5. Pumping Techniques
Pumping techniques are the practical steps that make expressing milk efficient and comfortable—right fit, right rhythm, right routine.
Why It's Important
Effective pumping preserves supply, eases engorgement, supports return-to-work plans, and keeps milk flowing when direct feeding isn’t possible.
How to Improve Pumping Techniques Skills
Fit flanges precisely and adjust suction to comfort; pain means something needs changing.
Use hands-on methods: Massage and compress to increase yield; warm packs help letdown.
Dial in schedules that mirror infant patterns or targeted supply-building (including power pumping when indicated).
Create a calm setup—relaxation, hydration, and skin-to-skin can lift output.
Maintain equipment meticulously: Clean, dry, and replace parts per guidance; store milk safely using current recommendations.
Leverage hospital-grade pumps when establishing or increasing supply, especially with preterm or NICU situations.
How to Display Pumping Techniques Skills on Your Resume
6. Latch Assessment
Latch assessment studies how the baby attaches and transfers milk—mouth placement, tongue and jaw motion, seal quality, and maternal comfort all in concert.
Why It's Important
Accurate assessment pinpoints the cause of pain or poor transfer, guiding precise fixes instead of guesswork.
How to Improve Latch Assessment Skills
Sharpen observation: Body alignment, gape, nipple shape after feeds, audible swallows, suck-swallow-breathe rhythm.
Evaluate oral function (tongue mobility, palate, tension) and position modifications that improve transfer.
Coach in real time: Micro-adjustments to hold, angle, and support; use side-lying or laid-back as needed.
Track maternal comfort and nipple integrity; pain should decrease quickly with an effective latch.
Refer appropriately to pediatrics, dentistry/ENT, or PT/OT when underlying issues are suspected.
How to Display Latch Assessment Skills on Your Resume
7. Milk Supply Management
Milk supply management means protecting, establishing, or increasing production so intake matches the infant’s needs.
Why It's Important
Right-sized supply keeps babies growing and parents comfortable, reducing frustration and unnecessary supplementation.
How to Improve Milk Supply Management Skills
Prioritize frequent, effective milk removal—8–12 times daily early on; no long gaps during the establishment phase.
Fix the latch first: Inefficient transfer sinks supply; technique beats shortcuts.
Use skin-to-skin and responsive feeding to boost hormones that drive production.
Deploy power pumping for targeted increases when appropriate.
Review health factors (thyroid, anemia, PCOS, meds) and collaborate with healthcare providers.
Be cautious with galactagogues; consider only after fundamentals are optimized and with medical input.
Protect night feeds and avoid unnecessary top-ups that displace breastfeeding unless clinically indicated.
How to Display Milk Supply Management Skills on Your Resume
8. Emotional Support
Emotional support is the steady hand—listening deeply, validating feelings, and offering hope when feeds feel fraught.
Why It's Important
Confidence fuels consistency. When parents feel seen and capable, breastfeeding lasts longer and feels lighter.
How to Improve Emotional Support Skills
Listen first: Reflect back concerns; remove judgment; normalize setbacks.
Co-create small goals so progress stays visible and motivating.
Equip partners and supporters with concrete ways to help.
Follow up proactively; consistency builds trust.
Screen and refer for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders when red flags appear.
How to Display Emotional Support Skills on Your Resume
9. Pediatric Collaboration
Pediatric collaboration is coordinated care with infant health providers so feeding plans align with medical needs and nothing slips through the cracks.
Why It's Important
Shared insight catches problems early, synchronizes guidance, and keeps families from juggling conflicting advice.
How to Improve Pediatric Collaboration Skills
Define roles and shared goals; agree on when and how to loop each other in.
Use secure communication and clear documentation in the chart for continuity.
Create protocols for common scenarios—jaundice, late preterm, slow gain, oral restrictions.
Hold quick case reviews for complex dyads; debrief and refine.
Align messaging so families receive consistent, confidence-building advice.
How to Display Pediatric Collaboration Skills on Your Resume
10. IBCLC Certification
IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) is the gold-standard credential for specialized lactation care, reflecting rigorous education, supervised clinical hours, and a comprehensive exam.
Why It's Important
Certification signals verified expertise, ethical practice, and a commitment to evidence-based care that families and healthcare teams can trust.
How to Improve IBCLC Certification Skills
Map education to needs: Use a self-assessment to target continuing education where your practice needs depth.
Broaden clinical exposure: Diverse cases—preterm, multiples, surgical births, complex medical conditions—sharpen judgment.
Engage with peers: Case discussions, mentorship, and quality improvement projects sustain growth.
Know recertification requirements: Maintain credentials through ongoing continuing education with periodic self-assessment; verify current IBLCE policies as they evolve.
Elevate professionalism: Ethics, documentation, clear boundaries, and culturally humble care—non-negotiable.
How to Display IBCLC Certification Skills on Your Resume
11. Safe Sleep Practices
Safe sleep practices teach families to create a secure sleep space while supporting breastfeeding—simple steps that lower risk and calm worries.
Why It's Important
Consistent, evidence-based guidance reduces sleep-related infant deaths and keeps feeding plans realistic overnight.
How to Improve Safe Sleep Practices Skills
Back to sleep for every sleep on a firm, flat surface—no incline.
Room-share without bed-sharing for at least the first 6 months when possible.
Keep the crib clear: No soft bedding, pillows, bumpers, toys, or weighted products.
Support breastfeeding, which is associated with lower risk; offer a pacifier once feeding is well established if desired.
Avoid smoke exposure and substances; prevent overheating; prioritize safe swaddling and discontinue when rolling starts.
Teach practical night strategies that protect safety and maintain feeding—lighting, positioning, and responsive soothing.
How to Display Safe Sleep Practices Skills on Your Resume
12. Electronic Health Records (EHR)
EHRs are the living chart—real-time, secure documentation that ties together parent, infant, and feeding data across a care team.
Why It's Important
Clean, complete records make coordinated care possible, reduce duplication, and surface patterns that improve outcomes.
How to Improve Electronic Health Records (EHR) Skills
Customize templates for lactation: latch notes, transfer indicators, pump data, milk volumes, feeding plans.
Standardize language and use smart phrases to boost clarity and efficiency.
Enable interoperability so pediatric, obstetric, and lactation notes inform one another.
Activate patient portals for feeding logs, secure messaging, and accessible care plans.
Protect privacy with robust access controls and regular audits; document consent clearly.
Track outcomes with simple dashboards—weight gain, exclusive breastfeeding rates, follow-up adherence—then improve based on the data.
How to Display Electronic Health Records (EHR) Skills on Your Resume
