Lactation

Lactation products: Please have any lactation products, including pillows you plan to use, on hand for your IBCLC to review with you if you have purchased items already. No need to rush out and buy anything prior to your visit if you don’t have items already in your home!

Dress comfortably: A virtual exam of your breasts/chest MIGHT be done based on your personal history and specific concerns, so plan accordingly!

Questions:  Write down any questions you have in advance.

Notes:  Have something with you to jot down notes! You will have access to our recommendations through your portal, but you might want to write some things down in your own words.

Choose a good location: Please try to find a quiet place with good lighting and set up in a comfortable location. In fact, where you plan to feed the baby or, most often, feed the baby is great!

Be prepared to discuss your intake forms: Including items about your medical history and Obstetric history, with your new provider. On that note, make sure you have completed all of your intake forms for your provider! That way, you get to dive right into your session.

Secure pets: We love pets, but they can be a distraction for parents and providers during a visit. It’s best if they are secured or in another room during the appointment.

Come and learn: Come ready to learn and ask questions. Nothing is off-limits.

Bring your partner: We highly encourage you to bring your partner or other support person with you so they can better understand their very important role in this journey! We are here to help the whole family. Plus, two sets of ears are better than one.

Feeding: When it is possible, an important part of the session is for your lactation consultant to observe a full feeding. To help make this possible, you can:
A: Try not to feed the baby or pump for 90-minutes prior to your visit.
B: Try to have the baby ready to feed during the visit.

Pumping: If you are pumping, please have your pumping supplies clean and ready to go!

Support person: To help facilitate the appointment, it is helpful to have another support person with you to make the appointment run smoothly. They might do things from bringing you water to adjusting camera angles so our IBCLCs can visualize the baby’s latch to holding the phone near the baby’s mouth during a feed so our IBCLC can better hear the suck and swallow!