About
The best thing I can tell you is that I love my job! I love working with new mums and showing them how to successfully breastfeed their babies. I can’t describe how rewarding it is to go into a house, teach a new mum how to nurse her tiny baby without pain and leave, knowing that I have started them off on a wonderful journey.
How did you get into breastfeeding?
Have you done any other studying?
How long have you been doing this?
Do you have a specific area of interest?
What makes you UNIQUE?
Do you have any children yourself?
How can you give advice if you have not breastfed yourself?
Are you a Lactation Consultant?
What is your process?
Which areas can you help with?
What are your feelings on expressing and bottle feeding?
What about nipple shields and pacifiers?
Why do you charge for your knowledge and advice – shouldn’t it be free?
What’s next?
How did you get into breastfeeding?
I was working as a nanny and studying to become a peadiatric nutritionist when I met an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, who was practising privately in London and looking for an apprentice. She liked me and I started accompanying her to consultations and learning the practical aspects of helping and teaching moms to breastfeed. (I quickly realized that this was a lot harder than it looked) I trained under her supervision for roughly 18months until she returned to Australia. As she was the only Lactation Consultant in private practice at the time, I had to learn on the trot and fill some very big shoes!
Have you done any other studying?
Yes, I have sourced courses from all over the world – such as the Australasian Lactation Course – and have completed many courses in the UK, including the Unicef Baby Friendly course. I also attend conferences regularly to keep current with research. However, my primary focus is helping moms get the basics right first. What sets me apart is that I had brilliant and prolonged practical training – nothing can beat this no matter how much theory you have!
How long have you been doing this?
I turned my attentions to breastfeeding in 2000 and went solo in 2003. So I’ve accumulated quite a bit of knowledge and experience to date.
Do you have a specific area of interest?
Yes, I am intrigued by the effect labour and delivery methods have on the baby’s head and how this compression then impacts breastfeeding.
It is truly relevant to breastfeeding. Having studied this relationship for years, I can almost predict which breastfeeding problems you will experience by listening to your birth story. Sometimes breastfeeding problems start in the womb! It is just so amazing to be part of the solution!
What makes you UNIQUE?
My passion, approach and special area of interest — These three things help me to work fast and effectively!
Do you have any children yourself?
No, I am just recently married and am hoping to start a family in a couple of years.
How can you give advice if you have not breastfed yourself?
Breastfeeding is a science. Since I come from a medical family – I guess science is something in my blood.
Plus, having breastfeeding experience is not necessarily advantageous. Many professionals carry emotional baggage if they’ve previously failed at breastfeeding themselves and this affects the manner in which they advise or treat moms. Likewise, if they were successful, it can be difficult to understand moms who feel it is all too much and want to give up.
I am a clean slate: supportive, understanding and non judgemental!
Also, I do cheekily tell people who have this opinion that my father delivers babies successfully on a regular basis and there is NO WAY he will ever have experience. It’s the same thing really!
I want to help mums out of pain and make sure my little friends are getting all the food they need. It breaks my heart to hear them crying for food when moms are so desperately trying to feed them – even though their nipples are shredded.
Are you a Lactation Consultant?
No, I have remained independent as I feel this is the best way for me to serve my clients. I want to be sure that when I walk into a mom’s house, there is absolutely no agenda and that I can make suggestions that will speed her to a full recovery and prolong the period in which baby receives mother’s milk. All the advice I give is tailor made to that particular mum and her family needs.
What is your process?
Before starting any consultation, I assess baby’s mouth and mother’s breast and nipple. It is important to understand how the breast will or will not fit into baby’s mouth. I then find a suitable position and attachment technique tailor-made to that mum and her baby, to ensure minimal nipple damage and maximum milk transfer.
Which areas can you help with?
99% of breastfeeding problems are the result of poor positioning and attachment (or poor instruction on how to position correctly.) By showing you proper techniques that’s customized to you and your baby, I can help with everything from sore nipples, sore breasts, shooting pains, low milk supply, slow weight gain, infant gut irritation, over supply, mastitis, abscess, inducing lactation, sleep patterns related to breastfeeding babies.
Some of my clients have had some form of breast sugery and are concerned about its affect on nursing. Others have more unusual concerns relative to their breasts or nipples. I can help alleviate all of these issues.
What are your feelings on expressing and bottle feeding?
There is a time and a place for everything. Provided your baby is 3 weeks or older and is feeding well, you are not likely to experience problems if you use Dr Browns or Born Free bottles and maintain your milk supply. The type of bottle is critical and ensuring your supply doesn’t dip when introducing bottles, is just as important.
What about nipple shields and pacifiers?
Likewise, there is a time and a place. When used correctly, they simply become stepping stones to a much better place. How could I deny anybody this?
Why do you charge for your knowledge and advice – shouldn’t it be free?
Whilst I am bursting with passion and energy, I do have living costs I need to take care of each month, as well as business expenses. Helping mums worldwide comes at a cost.
However, I want to make my knowledge available to everyone – which is why I have started to put it into electronic books. It is more cost effective and offers mums instant solutions. Mums all over the world can now learn from me and improve their breastfeeding anytime, anywhere.
It is just so brilliant when I help a mum in the Bahamas or Norway through an online program. I would never be able to reach all these mums personally but can do so online.
What’s next?
I want to complete the last eBooks and then start filming my breastfeeding workshop. My unique breastfeeding workshop content yields a 99% success rate. That’s really exciting! I want to take this to moms all over and make a positive and bigger impact on their lives. That is all I am giving away right now!