7 Reasons You Should See a Lactation Professional
In those early newborn days, everything can feel like a blur. And often, feeding your brand new baby is one of the blurriest parts.
Most of our clients really want to breastfeed/chestfeed, but even the strongest motivation doesn’t guarantee a smooth journey.
Something we’ve learned over the years is that it can be really hard for new parents to be able to tell when breastfeeding or chestfeeding is going well, and when some extra help could be useful. Often that leads to parents not reaching out for help until the challenges are pretty overwhelming… meaning that the problems have gotten even worse than they might have if an SOS was sent out a little earlier.
To make matters more complicated, parents often find that the options can be pretty confusing once they decide to reach out for lactation support.
Hospital clinic lactation consultant? Private, in-home lactation consultant? Lactation counselor/educator? La Leche League meeting or other feeding support group? Confusion is definitely a valid response to this array of options!
As our resident lactation counselor, Marlee is here to talk about the different types of lactation support available here in Orange County, and give you 7 signs that mean it’s a good time to reach out for help.
Hi! I’m Marlee, and I’ve been working with parents postpartum since 2014. I help dozens of families each year navigate their early postpartum journeys.
(If you want to learn more about me, check out our about page.)
Usually the first topic on new parents’ list of questions when I see them for a visit has something to do with feeding their baby.
Whether breastfeeding/chestfeeding, bottle feeding, or some combination of those, there are so many aspects of this part of life with a newborn that can be confusing, confounding, or downright hard. I love helping families get off on a healthy path to caring for one of their infant’s most important needs.
First of all, let’s clear up some terminology about lactation professionals:
Lactation consultants or International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs)
These are healthcare professionals who specialize in clinical management of lactation and infant feeding issues. IBCLCs have to pass a licensing board exam in order to become board certified. Their role is defined by a scope of practice and overseen by the licensing board.
You’ll usually find lactation consultants at hospital breastfeeding clinics (like the ones at Columbia Pediatrics in Long Beach, Hoag Hospital in Newport, Kaiser Anaheim and Kaiser Irvine, Long Beach Memorial, Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, and St. Joseph Hospital in Orange). Most lactation consultants in these clinics are also nurses, coming from a medical background. Sometimes there are even lactation consultants in hospital postpartum units, but unfortunately many hospitals don’t have lactation consultants on staff (or don’t have enough of them on staff to guarantee support for all families who need it).
Some IBCLCs have their own private practices rather than, or in addition to, working in the hospital setting. They may see patients at pediatrician offices, their own business offices, or in their patients’ homes. Some IBCLCs also offer lactation support groups that are often free or low cost (much cheaper than a private consultation).
In Orange County, prices for an appointment with an out-of-hospital lactation consultant start around $200. Most lactation consultants in our area don’t accept insurance, but often offer a “super bill” that parents can submit to their health insurance company, flexible spending account (FSA), or health savings account (HSA) for reimbursement.
Lactation counselors, lactation educator counselors, CLECs, CLCs, or lactation specialists
These are non-medical lactation support people who (usually) have taken training in lactation support (like the one I took from Childbirth International), and act more as peer counselors than as clinical professionals. They specialize in non-medical lactation support and typically refer to a lactation consultant (see above) for complex breastfeeding and chestfeeding issues that require clinical management.
There is no requirement for training or certification needed to practice as a lactation counselor. There are many organizations that offer training programs, and each organization has its own curriculum, approach, and training/certifying requirements. There is a lot of variation in the training and experience of lactation counselors since there is no standard curriculum and no licensing exam to practice in this role.
Lactation counselors are most likely to offer in-home visits for their clients, although some also see clients in other settings.
In Orange County, prices for a lactation counselor visit start around $85.
I hope that helps to clarify these different support roles. In general, both lactation counselors AND consultants can address many of the day-to-day challenges that parents and newborns face, but only lactation CONSULTANTS are clinical professionals (which is also reflected in their fees, and often also in the way they practice if they come from a medical background).
I am a lactation counselor, and love serving families in that more holistic, less clinical, peer counseling role! And of course, I always help my clients access care with a local IBCLC when additional clinical help is needed.
Serving families as a lactation counselor is one of my favorite hats to wear. The best part of this work for me is being able to take the time to explore the emotional aspects of learning to feed a baby that are very rarely addressed in any other setting during those early newborn weeks.
So now that you have a better idea of the kinds of help available, I want to share 7 reasons you might want to contact a lactation professional for support:
Feeding your baby feels HARD.
Yes, this is enough of a reason to reach out for help!
If feeding your baby is feeling overwhelming, stressful, and heavy, it’s a great time to reach out to a lactation counselor. I love helping new parents work through these difficult feelings and experiences that often arise in the early weeks postpartum.
If feeding your baby feels frustrating, challenging, and emotional, you don’t have to do it alone! Support can be just an email or phone call away.
You’ve gotten conflicting advice about feeding your baby from different people, and you want to talk to someone “in the know” to help you sort it all out.
It’s so, so common for new parents to hear different advice from each person giving input on their lactation situation. From hospital lactation consultants to postpartum nurses to friends that have had babies to moms groups on Facebook… it’s extremely likely that everyone has something different to say.
I love sitting down with parents to sort through the various pieces of advice and information they’ve been given, helping them to consider what might be helpful in their unique situation and what they might want to let go of. Usually visits like this end in a huge sigh of relief as parents find clarity!
You’re worried that your baby isn’t getting enough milk, or that you have a low milk supply.
It can be really hard to tell the difference between a problem of low supply vs. a problem of baby having trouble getting the milk that is available. In these situations, I can help assess what might be going on and offer education and hands-on support to help turn things around.
In some cases a lactation consultant (IBCLC) is needed to more clinically manage increasing supply, but often a few small changes can make a huge difference.
Your pediatrician recommended supplementing with (or completely switching over to) formula, but you want to explore your options first.
Many parents are surprised to learn the limited extent of lactation know-how pediatricians often have. (One study estimated that pediatricians only receive 3 hours of breastfeeding education per year during their training.)
Of course some pediatricians are truly breastfeeding supportive, but many are simply “breastfeeding tolerant.” Our local Orange County clients have shared stories like this with us time and time again. If you’ve been given a recommendation to supplement with formula or stop breastfeeding or chestfeeding altogether, without a referral to a lactation specialist, chances are your pediatrician is not very friendly toward breastfeeding in practice.
If you're working with a pediatrician you trust who is providing care that align with your goals and values as a parent, that's wonderful! But if you (like many of my clients) don't find yourself with that sort of relationship with your pediatrician and you have questions or doubts about feeding advice or information you've been given, a lactation counselor like me can help provide more context and thoughtful conversation around the issues you’re facing. We can talk about your options for moving forward.
Your nipples are sore, cracked, or bleeding.
This is a surefire sign a visit with a lactation counselor could be helpful! With parents experiencing sore or extremely painful nipples, I can not only help to address the cause of the discomfort, but I also have a few tricks up my sleeve for healing injured nipples.
Bottom line… if you’re in pain, it’s probably a great time to call for help!
You’re using a nipple shield and want some help figuring out if/how you can nurse without it.
Often our local hospitals send parents home with a nipple shield, but don’t give them much information about how to use it or wean away from it when they and their baby are ready. If you’re still using a nipple shield once you’re back at home with your baby, it can be a great idea to meet with a lactation counselor to help address the underlying issue that may have made a nipple shield helpful, and make a game plan for going forward.
Often I’m able to help clients latch and nurse their babies comfortably without a nipple shield on the spot during a visit!
You want someone to check your baby’s latch.
This is one of the most common concerns parents have when they contact me. I find that when I visit a family to fulfill this seemingly simple request, often a myriad of other questions and concerns come up as well, so we work through everything together.
It’s important to remember that what a baby’s latch looks like from the outside isn’t the whole story. So if someone has told you your baby’s latch “looks great” but you’re still feeling discomfort or wanting some reassurance, it’s a great time to contact a lactation professional.
If you want even MORE reasons to see a lactation professional, check out our follow-up to this post.