Lactation support
While, yes: breastfeeding your baby is natural… natural does not equal easy. Or effortless! There can be many things that come up for which you might want to seek out support. Working with a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) can be a great way to tackle your issues in the comfort of your own home. I offer prenatal lactation education, in-home lactation support after your baby’s arrival and virtual services for those outside my service area.
What kinds of topics can you seek my support for? Concerns about milk supply/ baby ‘getting enough’, weight loss/gain issues or concerns for baby, pain with nursing or pumping (it shouldn’t hurt!), nipple and breast issues, and more. Find the full list below.
I offer in-person lactation support in the lower of Oregon’s Rogue Valley: Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Jacksonville, Medford, Central Point are all within my standard service area. If you live more than 20 miles outside of Ashland, we can make our appointment a virtual, telehealth one (although weighing baby will not be possible) or we can have our appointment at my Ashland office. However, if you have your heart set on an in-home appointment and you are outside of my service area, we can add a travel fee to accommodate your wishes.
What can you expect from a lactation consult?
Soon after we have scheduled your visit, you will receive an email with information on how to prepare, plus the paperwork for you to read over before our visit (I will bring hard copies for us to sign).
Your first lactation consult is a longer visit than your follow-up visits will be. Typically the first visit is about 1.5-2 hours long. In this initial evaluation we will go over your history, baby’s history and briefly talk about the birth. We discuss the main question or concern that caused you to reach out. Depending on your goals, we may go through a questionnaire designed to detect any areas that may need exploring. We weigh baby and then move to observing a feeding, start to finish. We may have to pause our conversation as baby tells us they’re ready to nurse, which is totally fine. If there are questions or concerns about baby’s weight and/or your supply, we will weigh baby again after the feeding is done.
It is important to realize that lactation support is a collaborative endeavor. I bring all my knowledge and experience to the table, but you are the expert on your baby, your family and what could work for you. We will work together to identify recommendations based on our discussion, my observations and your goals. These recommendations will be tailored to your unique circumstances and meant to fit your family specifically. Some might be immediate suggestions on how to improve something that’s been challenging, and we will practice implementing those before I leave. I want you to feel as though the recommendations are doable for you, and for you to feel confident in implementing them once I leave.
After our consult, you will receive an email summarizing our visit, reiterating the recommendations we worked on and the follow-up plan we have come up with. Every in-person consult comes with a 15 minute follow-up phone call, if desired.
Once we have had the initial consult, we can schedule shorter visits to continue to work on your goals. Not all breastfeeding goals require follow-up appointments, though there are goals that may require a number of visits. Follow-up visits may range from 30 minutes (virtual only) to an hour, depending on your needs and wishes.
Breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt. Pain with nursing is a symptom.
What can we work on together?
•Weight gain/weight loss questions
•Milk supply questions
•Nipple and breast issues, including pain with nursing
•Troubleshooting your breastfeeding problem
•Returning to work/pumping
•Hand expression (teaching you how to do it)
•Monitoring baby’s weight
•Helping you correct baby’s latch
•Increasing your milk supply
•Weaning: combining breastfeeding and complimentary foods
•Weaning: working towards ending breastfeeding
•Suppressing your milk supply after pregnancy/infant loss*
•Full feeding assessment
•Weighted feeds (“how much is baby getting?”)
•Quick weight check (at my Ashland office)
•Learning your baby’s feeding cues
•Learning to feed on demand
•Phasing out a nipple shield
•Calculating baby’s intake needs
•Guidance on how to know if “baby is getting enough”
•Safely tamping down oversupply
•Storage and preparation for expressed milk
•Prenatal breastfeeding education
•Twin feeding
How do I schedule?
Reach out! You are welcome to contact me directly, or to schedule your initial lactation consult through this link. Can’t find a time that works? Let me know and we will find one that does.
Please note fees are due at time of service. I can accept cash, check or Venmo. Find the complete price list here.
*if you have lost your pregnancy/baby and are dealing with lactation questions or issues as a result of your loss, I offer my services on donation basis: pay what you can, or not at all. I don’t want financial factors to keep you from receiving the support you need at this horrifically difficult time. I am so sorry for your loss.