Indira Lopez-Bassols

B.A. with Hons, MSc, IBCLC, PhD student

Currently, I work as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) which is the highest credential awarded in lactation. As a clinician IBCLC, I have been in charge for the past 6 years of a weekly NHS Specialist Breastfeeding Clinic for complex breastfeeding dyads, as part of the Central London Community Healthcare Trust (by GP, RM, or HV referral only) in Merton. Our service has gained Stage 3 accreditation from the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly initiative. We are proud to share that our Clinic has won the 2023-25 International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Community-Based Care Award. I also have a private clinical practice as part of Breastfeeding London.

I am currently doing Doctoral Research in the Nursing & Health Sciences programme at the University of Dundee. My research examines how to improve in-depth breastfeeding education for Healthcare Providers. I am the Director/Founder of the Centre for Breastfeeding Education and Research and lead Lecturer for the Art of Science of Breastfeeding course (previously known the Breastfeeding London Course.) The Art and Science of Breastfeeding course has been running for 13 years, it has grown an international community of over 600 alumnae and is the only Course in the UK taught by a multidisciplinary team, which been granted professional accreditation by the former Royal College of Midwives as well as OCN London. It meets and exceeds the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) exam requirements. I have been a Mentor for our Clinical Instruction Programme which runs as part of the Centre for Breastfeeding Education and Research. In addition, I have been serving as a volunteer Breastfeeding Counsellor for Cafe La Leche League Merton for the past 16 consecutive years, offering free breastfeeding support to families in my community.

Over the years, teaching and writing have become lifelong passions. The Japanese word ikigai (生き甲斐) means life mission, or raison d’etre; my ikigai  is definitely serving others.

While studying for a MSc (Econ) at the London School of Economics in 1996, I bought by coincidence BKS Iyengar’s book Light on yoga without suspecting it would change my life. My need to understand the living architecture of the body and the peaks and valleys of the mind, led me to take on the path of yoga.

The practice of yoga and the art of just sitting during my three pregnancies was invaluable in aligning and preparing body, mind, and heart for birth and through my mothering journey. Inspired by own beautiful birth experiences, I embarked on another life journey as a birth doula, and trained with Michel Odent/Liliana Lammers in 2006.

In my scarce free time, I love being in nature and have great respect and admiration for all wild plants and their healing properties. I enjoy silence and contemplative practices, as well as reading, dancing, and chanting + singing. Having lived all over the world, Mexican in my heart and fully trilingual, I love travelling and discovering new horizons.

Last but not least, my life and work have been entirely inspired by my three children -my greatest day-to-day teachers-, and my beloved husband, who is rock solid in my life.