The short answer is every birthing person should have a lactation consultant and support team before and after birth! The fourth trimester is a transitional time for the mother and birthing person’s life. You have a new, highly dependent person to take care of 24 hours a day! Your baby’s every scream, movement, and behavior can be hard to interpret. On top of all the newness of parenthood, you might have questions and concerns about nursing, bottle feeding, and breastfeeding. Where do you turn? The first step is to surround yourself with supportive family, friends, and support groups. A community of support is so important to help you know that you are not alone – many others have gone through what you are going through right now and can give you tips to help!
But what if your support network is not enough? What if you feel like you’ve tried everything you know and you or your baby are struggling with breastfeeding or chestfeeding? Or maybe you have breast or chest concerns during the prenatal time that you think will impact lactation postpartum? Now is the time to call a lactation consultant: Michelle Fassell IBCLC, at Your Milk Story Lactation Consulting!
My path to becoming an IBCLC
Hi, I’m Michelle (she/her) at Your Milk Story! My journey to becoming an IBCLC began after the birth of my second son when I called a lactation consultant to help with latch and resolve my bleeding nipples. To learn more about my journey check out my story here. IBCLC stands for International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant. To become an IBCLC, I went through an extensive lactation training program that required 14 health-science classes, 1000 clinical hours over a 5-year period through La Leche league USA, and 95 lactation-specific education hours with a certifying exam administered by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners.
As an IBCLC I am a member of the allied healthcare team which includes your pediatrician, OB/GYN, pediatric therapists, and other health-care providers. I work alongside and with your health care team to help give you the confidence and tools you and your baby need to reach all your breastfeeding and chestfeeding goals.
How I can help you reach your infant-feeding goals
First and foremost, as a lactation consultant, I will always support your family’s nursing goals, whether that means exclusive breastfeeding or chestfeeding, mixed feeding, formula feeding, exclusive pumping, and more! You, your baby, and your support people are the experts on your own journey. As an IBCLC, I can offer support, targeted suggestions, specific education, and a personalized care plan to help you succeed. These are some of the things I can help you with:
- Latch and positioning difficulties
- Increasing low milk production
- Decreasing overproduction
- Overcoming bottle feeding difficulties
- Assess milk transfer at the chest/breast through test weights
- Comfort measures for pain, nipple wounds, engorgement, plug ducts, mastitis, and more!
- Assess pump flange fit and optimizing pump output
- Provide prenatal and postpartum lactation education
- Referrals to other health care providers
If you need help with any or all of these, it is time to call a lactation consultant! I am here to support you whether that is through a home, office, telehealth lactation consultation, Infant massage class, or Story Time support group. To begin, reach out to me at 281-699-8054, email me at michelle@yourmilkstory.com, or book your session here. I look forward to meeting you and supporting you in your new-parenting journey!