Lactation Support Services
What are your qualifications?
Kimberly has been an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) since 2007. The IBCLC is the highest certification available in lactation. She has extensive experience assisting families with more common circumstances such as painful latch and low milk supply as well as more complicated situations such as prematurity, infant genetic syndromes, severe maternal illness, and many other difficulties. Kimberly's current focus is on training new lactation consultants, so she began expanding the practice in 2018. Rachel and Natalie are both IBCLCs that were trained by Kimberly. Eboni, Kristen, and Patty are all interns that joined the group in 2021 to train together. They have all completed lactation training with Kimberly and help clients under direct supervision from an IBCLC.
What is included in lactation support services?
A typical appointment includes a home visit in B/CS, Navasota, Washington, or Brenham with unlimited email follow-up
What should I expect at a home visit?
While every situation is a little different, most home visits last about one hour. During your visit, we will discuss your and baby's medical history and the consultant will perform exams appropriate to your situation. We will discuss your concerns and assist you with achieving a comfortable latch. We will work together to develop a treatment plan that works for you and after your appointment we will provide you with a summary of what we discussed so you have it for your reference. If you are seeing an intern, Kimberly is available to step in if they are uncertain of the best way to address your concerns. Behind the scenes, Kimberly reviews all email follow-up from interns and completes regular chart reviews as part of her supervision of each intern's work to be sure your case is being handled appropriately.
What if I don't need to be seen in person?
Some mothers have already achieved a comfortable latch and good milk supply, but would like to have easy access to a professional to answer other questions they may have along their breastfeeding journey. For these situations, we offer emails-only support. This allows you to have a lactation consultant "on call" to answer your questions with minimal waiting. In the era of Covid we have also discovered that some parents prefer video call appointments or would like to access our services even though they don't live in our area and we are happy to meet this need. While not strictly necessary, it's helpful to have a support person available that can move the camera around during the appointment as needed to assess latch. Please be aware that we cannot complete an adequate assessment for oral ties without an in-person examination.
What is the cost for these services?
Unfortunately, many health insurers still do not cover private lactation consultant services (outside of a hospital or doctor's office). This is because the IBCLC is an international certification, but we are not licensed by most states (insurers only contract with licensed providers). While some insurers reimburse for lactation services on an out-of-network basis, this is far from universal and generally requires quite a bit of work on the parents' part. Despite these difficulties, we feel it is important that all families who wish to access lactation support are able to do so. To meet this goal, we have a sliding scale based on income and are willing to negotiate. We will not turn you away for inability to pay.