Why Choose The Art of Lactation

"Courage is the root of change and change is what we are chemically designed for"

Elizabeth Zott, Chemist / Host: Supper At Six

Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus / Apple TV Series

Most people I know, have a book that holds a special place in their heart. At some very specific time in their lives, at that perfect moment, the words from its pages spoke to the very essence of their soul. Its words were validating, comforting, perhaps even terrifying truthful, but more importantly, they offered clarity where previously, there may have been none. "Your dreams will not come to you in a linear fashion. But if you have a voice you feel is not being heard, we would love to meet you", Elizabeth Zott tells her audience.

"It is time for me to reflect, regroup, and figure out what is next. Let's begin, shall we?"

Reflect

I have always told parents that feeding their babies breast milk is a team sport, regardless of whether they directly breastfeed, pump and bottle feed, both, or combination feed breast milk and formula. Studies confirm that if the mother is not supported in her choice to feed breast milk, early weaning is inevitable. My years of experience also reveal that at the first hint of breastfeeding or pumping trouble, doubt quickly pounces amidst the swirl of raging hormones and sleep deprivation. Without quick and consistent lactation intervention and support, maternal feelings of self worth, failure, and guilt may follow in quick succession, regardless of their background, thorough (or lacking) preparation, knowledge, experience, or training. Moms and babies rely on a strong, supportive village, which includes consistent, reliable access to expert medical care and lactation support. I've been working at hospital bedsides helping moms and babies long enough to understand that our healthcare system is failing our breastfeeding/pumping moms and babies due to a complex myriad of constraints, both internal and external. I need to find the courage to make a change...... to be the change for more accessible, informed lactation care....out-patient.

Regroup

When my husband and I married many years ago, I not only promised to love, honor, and cherish... but also make our home back in his home state of Colorado, when he retired from NASA. His retirement gave me the courage to embrace some significant, long dreamed of, immediate changes.

I was selected as a New Graduate Nurse to work in Childrens National Medical Center's, Level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Washington DC back in the 90's. It was there, as a newlywed, just before the advent of formal milk banks and donor breast milk availability for our most fragile NICU patients, 24-35 week preemies, that I witnessed the medicinal power of human breast milk at work. Equally significant, I remember vividly the challenges new mothers had accessing affordable, quality breast pumps, lactation education and counseling, and support/tolerance for workplace milk removal. This was the foundational seed for my dream of opening up a private lactation practice someday.

It's hard to believe it's been 30 years since I left my first nursing job at Childrens National Medical Center. While lactation support has made progress, it has a long way to go. There have been wins in The Affordable Care Act supporting lactation care and The Pump Act supporting working parents. There is a movement gaining momentum for physician, advanced lactation education and board certification in lactation medicine. I'm encouraged. But women are still not taught the art of lactation: how their bodies really work to make milk, how to optimize breast pumps to work with their bodies, how to continue to successfully negotiate time at their place of employment so they can reach their breastmilk goals, esp if they align with the American Academy of Pediatric's recommendation of 1-2 years. I worked in healthcare and I can honestly tell you, we nurses and doctors struggled mightily to maintain our milk supplies to reach that one year goal. Some succeeded. Many of us failed. It was devestating. Then there were the countless parents, sometimes through tears, almost whispering, confessing their biggest disappointment to me was that their babies never latched or breastfed because they had no help either in-patient, out-patient, or both. And finally, the dagger through my NICU nurse heart, the countless parents who said their babies never latched or breastfed just because they had been in the NICU. I see you all and I hear you.

It has taken many months of hard work and collaboration to get this new private practice adventure up and running. Moving to a new state and starting from scratch made it even more challenging. The website is finally live and we are "go for launch". Courage is the root of change...

So Why Choose The Art of Lactation To Meet Your Breast Milk Goals?

What makes The Art of Lactation stand out? Why choose The Art of Lactation? We not only teach parents and babies how to successfully master the art of breast milk removal, we are daring to change the status quo. Working with us, you will feel empowered understanding exactly how and why your body and baby work the way they do and confident succumbing to "unknown variables". Embracing and balancing these unknown variables and how they affect your milk supply is key to successfully meeting your breast milk goals. We tailor breast milk solutions, one parent and baby at a time. Come join our team to not only successfully meet your breast milk goals, but help your family, your community, and future generations, see what it looks like to successfully meet their breast milk goals. Let's start a conversation that will really make a difference. Let's do something together that will matter. "Cooking is chemistry and chemistry is life". Feeding our families is important work.

Let's Get Started, Shall We?