by Corinne Daut, RN, IBCLC, Director of Lactation Services
My mentor, Katie Madden, has moved on to grow her Balanced Breastfeeding business and open her own private practice. I am beyond proud of her. She has taught Gwynne and I so much over the last three years, and we will always be grateful for the opportunity we had to learn from Katie. We would not be the Lactation Consultants we are today without her guidance and support. The lactation program at The Birth Center is now in my hands, and I look forward to continuing to care for mothers and babies the way that Katie taught me. I am also excited for the challenges of managing and leading our department, educating our nurses and midwives, and growing and improving the lactation program.
This transition is a wonderful opportunity to remind The Birth Center community of what our lactation program offers. Gwynne and I are both Registered Nurses (RNs) and International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs). We have each worked with hundreds of breastfeeding mothers and their babies. We offer comprehensive lactation consultations, with breastfeeding mothers and their babies that are billed to insurance. These visits are typically 1-1.5 hours long, and we do a full breastfeeding assessment. Our appointments are helpful for any mother experiencing a breastfeeding difficulty but are also valuable when things are going well. There is still so much that we can teach you about breastfeeding your own unique baby.
Breastfeeding Basics class at The Birth Center is a perfect first step in breastfeeding preparation for pregnant women. We also offer one-on-one prenatal consultations to discuss and prepare for certain breastfeeding risk factors, previous difficulties, or specific concerns.
Our Little Babies Breastfeeding Support Group is every Friday from 1-3 pm and is recommended for moms and babies (newborn-4 months). This group is a great place to learn more about breastfeeding, receive support from an IBCLC, and connect with other moms who have babies the same age as yours. Big Babies Breastfeeding Support Group is the first Tuesday of every month from 10:30-12 pm, and this group is a wonderful resource for continued learning about breastfeeding topics that relate to older babies and toddlers (4 months and older).
There are some changes to the lactation department as well. We have a new Facebook Page and Facebook Group to provide ongoing breastfeeding support to our patients and The Birth Center moms who are breastfeeding. Please like our page and join our group. I am looking forward to developing a pumping-focused class to offer in the coming months. This has been a goal of mine for several years, and this transition is the perfect time to increase our lactation class offerings. We are also hoping to bring another RN/IBCLC or RN with the goal of becoming an IBCLC to our team so we can support even more moms and babies in the future.