I breastfed all 4 of my babies, and each had their own special challenges. My breastfeeding experience with my first, and the lack of help I received, gave me the extra motivation to become a lactation consultant
Teaching, I love teaching new parents about their baby
Hospital, NICU, outpatient, breastfeeding support group, prenatal breastfeeding education
My partner Erich and I have 4 kids, Evelyn-10, EJ-7, Josephine-4 and Poppy-2. We have a dog, cat, gerbil, 2 birds and fish
Gardening, going to the zoo with my kids and date nights with my partner
I am also a registered nurse
WI
I worked nights and weekends on a postpartum unit, a special care nursery and in the NICU, and we had very little lactation support during those hours. I always felt helpless with my breastfeeding patients if they were struggling. Then after my breastfeeding experience with my first and the lack of support I received, I was even more compelled to become a lactation consultant.
So that I could better support my breastfeeding patients during my night and weekend shifts.
I would tell all parents that it's more important to research the birthing process and how to care for their newborn in the first 24hrs than it is to research the more trivial things such as which breastfeeding pillow they are going to get. I found so many patients would consent to, for example, being induced at 39 weeks without any medical necessity, just because it's what the doctor recommends. I found most parents had no idea what skin to skin was unless they took the prenatal breastfeeding class. I found many mothers did not research natural coping techniques for labor, they just assumed they would get an epidural and have no pain whatsoever. Most patients had no idea that Pitocin use was standard and that the OB didn't even need consent to start it or that walking epidurals were not allowed at our hospital. We all know that the birthing process and the first 24hrs of baby's life are important for setting the stage for a successful breastfeeding experience, but unfortunately many parents are lacking the information on how to get the best outcomes.
