Breastfeeding Education and Support


La Leche League Meetings, Phone and E-mail Support

As a La Leche League Canada Accredited Leader, I actively volunteer my time in the community. I conduct monthly information meetings in St Catharines and Niagara Falls on a variety of breastfeeding topics. These meetings are open to any woman interested in breastfeeding and her children. I am also available by phone and e-mail to answer your breastfeeding questions and concerns. These services are free and available to any woman in the Niagara region. There are La Leche League Leaders in Beamsville who also hold meetings and offer phone help. For more information go to the La Leche League Canada website listed on my “links” page.


Home Visits

Home visits are available on weekends and evenings for a fee, even on short notice.

Sometimes breastfeeding challenges cannot easily be remedied over the phone. It can be very beneficial for a new mother to have a qualified professional visit her in her home to assess breastfeeding challenges and offer solutions. This can be particularly helpful in cases of concerns about supply, latching and positioning and sore breasts and nipples. This person can be a midwife, a certified lactation consultant in private practice, a skilled public health nurse or a postpartum doula.

In addition to my training with La Leche League, I am a CAPPA Certified Postpartum Doula. Therefore my education and experience with supporting breastfeeding mothers has been quite extensive.


Referrals

As a member of the Niagara Region Breastfeeding Coalition (a coalition of lactation consultants, nurses, midwives, La Leche League Leaders, doulas, researchers, childbirth educators and mothers). I can refer you to the full range of breastfeeding resources available in Niagara Region.



Fiona’s Top 10 List for Breastfeeding Success
1.  Buy and read a good breastfeeding book before the birth
2.  Join a breastfeeding support group, if possible, before the birth
3.  Nurse early and often after the birth, lots of skin to skin contact with baby,
     more nursing=more milk, you can’t nurse too often, avoid schedules
4.  Learn to nurse lying down, restful for mom, keep baby in the same room at night
5.  Ask for help with positioning and latching until it feels right
6.  Try to nurse the baby before s/he is crying; crying is a late hunger cue
7.  Don’t pump in the early days unless directed to by a health professional
8.  Don’t supplement with artificial milk unless there is a medical reason, avoid
     pacifiers
9.  Count wet and poopy diapers to determine if baby is getting enough (2-5 poops,
     6-8 wet diapers after day 5)
10. If anything, at anytime doesn’t seem right, get help right away