Bio

Lactation Partners is a private practice of registered nurses (RN’s) who are board certified lactation consultants (IBCLC’s). We are committed to providing excellent clinical care to new mothers and babies in the Chicagoland area while supporting breastfeeding. We do this in mother’s homes and we provide follow up by phone, email, and our drop in clinics. Sometimes we do this by phone consultation only.

Our goals are to provide information and support to enable parents to make the best decisions for themselves and their babies. Our referrals come from pediatricians, obstetricians, midwives, other healthcare providers as well as other new parents we have worked with. We enjoy a strong partner base that offers us wonderful resources to share with you.

We recognize that one of our primary roles is to educate moms about newborns and breastfeeding so that they can make informed decisions that are well considered. Another primary role is to provide logistical and emotional support to our clients as they navigate the very steep learning curve of the first 2-4 weeks of newborn life. Because mothers no longer live among other mothers the new mom today knows very little about the practical reality of breastfeeding. Because mothers no longer live in community, they lack the woman-to-woman support traditionally provided that held up the mother while she recovered from birth, learned her way through newborn care and breastfeeding, and shared the very labor intensive task of caring for a newborn in the first month of life, particularly, but for all of the 4th trimester, the first 3 months of life.

We take the responsibility of supporting moms very seriously and believe we must support their health physically, mentally, and emotionally. We see our role as one who holds up new mothers, who nurtures new mothers, who educates new mothers, and who advocates for new mothers so that they have the energy freed up to care for their newborns and themselves.

We also feel a great responsibility for newborns who are poorly understood in today’s world. We know that their needs are quite demanding for new mothers but that their needs must be met. They must be fed around-the-clock, held a great deal, soothed while they transition state (from awake to asleep for example) or while managing the sensations of digestion, fatigue, or over-stimulation. We know that developmentally their need is to grow and to attach to the adults that care for them and that the process of attachment takes 12 weeks, and that the more their needs are met, the better these two goals will be achieved. We realize that caring for newborns and meeting their needs are exhausting and that mothers (and fathers) need a lot of education, practical support, emotional sensitivity and that they too are going through a tremendous transition to a new role, that of a parent, while adjusting to the great demands of caring for a newborn.

We recognize that we are one small part of a bigger team that includes OB/midwife, pediatrician, family, friends, and any other support providers required. Because we often see our patients once, we are limited in our capacity to launching breastfeeding or helping people overcome a specific hurdle. Things can change with time and what is useful at one moment in the breastfeeding relationship may not be appropriate at another moment. Therefore it is our goal that we support moms in the context of the time we work with them.

A typical visit is 1–2 hours & includes a history of mom's general health, the baby's birth, assessment of the mother's breasts, the baby's general health, oral anatomy, feeding position, latch and feeding effort. Hospital grade scales are used to assess the baby's intake during the feeding by doing weights before and after the feeding. A written plan of care will be developed with you to help move you toward your breastfeeding goals. A report is sent to the baby's doctor. Telephone or email follow up with a lactation consultant is included.

We work with families in the city of Chicago from the south loop north through the many neighborhoods of the city and into the northern suburbs.

Lived experiences

All three of us are moms and have breastfed.

Location

Chicago, IL 60613

Insurance

Yes

HSA/FSA

Yes

Home visits

Yes

Lactation Expertise

Breast augmentation or reduction

Families of Color

Infants with anatomical challenges

Inverted and flat nipples

Latch issues

Low milk supply

Multiples

Oversupply

Postpartum depression

Preemies

Relactation

Returning to work

Teens

Tongue tie