Lactation and Feeding Support
When it comes to feeding babies, there are a lot of opinions about what’s best and what your goals should be. As a Certified Lactation Support Counselor and Integrative Lactation and Feeding Specialist, my only goal is to help you achieve YOUR feeding goals and navigate what feeding your baby looks like for your family — whether that is breastfeeding/bodyfeeding, formula feeding, combination feeding, pumping, inducing lactation, or something else. I will meet you where you are and support you every step of the way.
As a certified lactation support counselor and integrative lactation + infant feeding specialist, I…
recognize human milk, formula, breast/body/chestfeeding, bottles, syringes, cups, and SNS are all normal ways to accomplish feeding a baby, that are dependent upon the lactating parent(s) individual health considerations
have effective techniques for creating connections with my clients, to fully understand them and their changing needs by accepting where they are at the current moment, and providing ongoing support
have the knowledge necessary to begin, expand, and end a feeding relationship including nursing, pumping, supplementing, solids, and weaning
use inclusive and individualized clinical language that mirrors the language my clients use, including type of feeding, pronouns, type of family — all taken from the family’s own description
provide supportive, non-judgemental resources and follow-up for my clients, with the only agenda being the healthiest possible family
may assess the physical, nutritional, and mental health needs of a new family
may use lactation and feeding tools to assist with feeding
have extensive knowledge and can apply evidence-based information to each individual family, based on their individual goals, keeping in mind the evidence exists within a patriarchal, racist system. Individual cultures and backgrounds of families are always included in the whole picture
know the rights of lactating people, and lactating working people
What training do you have as a lactation professional?
Through my training with Manhanttan Birth, I have:
completed a 50-hour training program offered by Tanya Willis, IBCLC, and Sarah Lovell, IBCLC of Manhattan Birth, with knowledge of current recommendations for infant feeding and lactation
passed an examination based on evidence, evaluation, and assessment, and
planning for case studiespresented a variety of cases to my peer cohort and mentors
assisted at least two families with ongoing lactation and feeding of a new baby and written reports on them during certification, supervised and evaluated by my mentors
In addition to ILFS training, I have also completed the 45-hour lactation support counselor training with IBCLC Lea Rivera via Birth Day Presence. This training included information on the composition of human milk, anatomy and physiology, infant oral anatomy, infant assessment, best practices on initiating bodyfeeding, positioning and latch, managing expectations, managing engorgement, mastitis, thrush, plugged ducts, hyperbilirubinemia, slow weight gain, nutrition during lactation, tongue tie, nipple damage, cleft lips and palettes, laryngomalacia, late preterm, NICU admission, multiples, weaning, breast pumps and manual expression, breast and chest surgery, medications, galactagogues, bodyfeeding and sexuality, and also included 20 hours of observation and case studies.
The Integrative Lactation and Feeding Specialist takes a whole person, whole family approach to assisting new parents with learning to feed their newborns. With current recommendations in mind about exclusive nursing, the ILFS recognizes that the health and adjustment of the person doing the feeding is not included in the current recommendations. Therefore, Integrative lactation and Feeding Specialists work with each family as its own specific, individual case. They help the family to discover and overcome their unique challenges to have the healthiest possible, most satisfying feeding relationship between parent(s) and baby(s). Most lactation training identifies “normal” and then identifies “variations.” The ILFS recognizes what is normal to a medical organization may, in fact, be a variation to any family. Each family is the expert on their own set of “normal”. It is the goal of the ILFS to assist families in becoming experts in how their own new or growing families work.
— Manhattan Birth ILFS Student Workbook
Services and Offerings
Initial Assessment (1.5-2 hours)
Fee Scale: $110-$175
assessment of the lactating parent(s) and your baby(ies)
weighted feed, if desired or needed
counseling and education (based on assessment)
creation of a care plan and resource-sharing
follow-up (by phone, text, or email) for 2 weeks
a report and summary for your records/to send to your provider
Follow-up Visits (1-1.5 hours)
Fee Scale: $75-$125
follow-up assessment and counseling/education
weighted feed, if necessary
updated care plan and resources
follow-up (by phone, text, etc) for 2 weeks
an updated report and summary
I would like to make it clear that I am not an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), however, becoming an IBCLC is a long-term goal of mine. The similarities between my scope and the scope of an IBCLC are that we are both prepared and expected to perform the same tasks, including but not limited to assessment, advocacy, education, and counseling. The difference comes when more specialized/long-term care or more experience is needed. It’s my belief that our community needs all the lactation education and support it can get. Having non-IBCLC support providers that know when to refer to an IBCLC is important because their presence increases access to bodyfeeding education and support. Additionally, it can reduce the caseloads that IBCLCs would need to take on, so they can focus on more complex clients who need them. That being said, I will refer to the IBCLCs at Wisco Lactation if, at any point, more specialized/knowledgeable care and support become necessary.
Lactation Doula Support
If you’re interested in creating an ongoing support package with regular check-ins and on-call text/phone support, I would love to meet with you and build a support plan that fits you and your needs! Sometimes a single visit or two is just right and other times, it may just not feel like enough. Combining my work as a doula and my education as a lactation counselor, I would love to offer a unique form of ongoing lactation support to you and your family. This could look like:
on-call text/phone support for day-to-day questions, concerns, or follow-up
regular check-ins at an interval that fits your needs — once-a-week home visits, accompanying you to appointments, etc.
support with transitioning back to work, bringing baby home from the NICU, adding in a bottle, beginning to pump, or whatever transitions you’re working through in the first few weeks/months of your baby’s life