London Lactation Consultant Recommendations

[DarlingClem]

Hi Everyone--

Our baby boy was born last Friday (6 days old) and I am breastfeeding but having A LOT of pain in my right breast throughout the entire feed, sometimes it will ease but most of the time it really hurts the whole time. My left side seems to be fine, it will hurt for a little bit but most of the time comfortable/bearable. The right is so bad that I am beginning to struggle to even bring him to my nipple because of the anticipation of the pain. I'm doing all I can to make sure he has a good latch (his chin is flat to my breast, his lips make a 'K,' his ear moves/cheeks don't pucker, and he's not making a slurping sound) and it still hurts!

Yesterday a midwife got him on and it felt ok but I can't seem to replicate whatever it is that she did (I'm doing what she told me but it's not having the same result).

Can anybody recommend a lactation consultant in the NW London area (or one that services this area as well)? We are in Queens Park. I'd really like one that won't make me feel bad if I feel I need to express this breast sometimes, I know some feel expressing this early will effect supply and is a big no-no.

Thanks in advance!

I saw Geraldine Miskin and would highly recommend her. Only thing is she is based in Surrey but I expect she would come up to NW London (just might charge more for it!) alternatively she might know someone in your area.

Often you can get some very good help on the helplines, or from one of the breastfeeding charities.

If you are considering a lactation consultant, please use someone from LCGB, as they are board-certified (which means they have oversight of a sort). Their webpage is here.

Digging a bit, I can see that Queen's Park is NCT country. So look here. There are three NCT BFCs listed there - their mobile numbers are there. They may be willing to do a home visit for you (this will be free). There are listings there, of the NCT drop ins in your area. And if neither of these options works for you, they will probably know about any LCs that cover the area.

There is an absolutely brilliant private bf drop-in in Queens Park. It runs on Tuesdays, which may be too long for you to wait. The woman who runs it is an NCT bf counsellor, so she may do home visits. PM me if you want her email/ details of the drop-in.

Sarah brown helped me. Really relaxed lady. Non judgemental. Great support and of course gave me loads of tips that helped me!!

www.breastfeedingworks.co.uk

Message me if you want to know more. Good luck. It is so so hard in the beginning. I would never have got through it without her.

www.breastfeedingworks.co.uk

Sorry!!

Recommendation for Ruth Tamir - she may be able to make it to you
www.birthandbeyondbirth.com/

www.birthandbeyondbirth.com/

Ann Dobson, excellent.

I'm in Islington and the Breastfeeding Network do a drop-I group somewhere in Islington every day of the week - you don't need to be a resident to go. The lady who ran it two years ago was fantastic. Hope you find some help soon.

Thanks ladies--I'll look into all this today.

I do have the Queens Park info and know that lady that runs it does do private drop-ins but I've just been a bit unsure about calling her. I got the impression from some ladies at bumps and babies catch-up that she can be pretty hardcore and I guess I'm worried she may make me feel bad when I'm already feeling bad about it all.

I haven't fed on the right since yesterday evening because I was in tears when I last tried. I've been expressing it and feeding him on my left and then giving a top up of the expressed if he seems he needs it (hard work in the middle of the night!) but he doesn't ever seem satisfied with the bottle--I think probably because it finishes so fast he doesn't get that slow comforting suck that seems to get him all dopey for sleeping. He's also not as happy with just my left as he was when I was doing both breasts.

I'm just feeling really overwhelmed with it all and that I'm letting him down and doing it wrong.

I know the Queens Park lady would probably be able to see me today or tomorrow if somebody could reassure me about her....

Thanks again!

If the Queens Park lady is the same one I think (who runs the private drop-in at her house), then do be reassured. I wouldn't call her 'hardcore'! She knows her stuff and is very professional and caring and I'm pretty certain she could help you!

Having a new baby and learning to Breastfeed is completely overwhelming so I'm not surprised you feel the way you do! It sounds like you're doing a great job, please do get support ASAP, so many bf problems can be solved with good advice. No properly trained bf counsellor should make you feel bad, you have nothing to feel bad about - you are not doing anything wrong! Good luck!

So are a breastfeeding counsellor and LC the same or different? Should I try one over the other or a counsellor first and then an LC? Sorry, we only moved to the UK a couple months ago so I'm still getting used to the system and if there's different names for things as opposed to America or Australia. (I'm an American who had been living in Australia).

Hmm I'm not sure on that one. I think possibly different organisations call them different things? I know the NCT refer to breastfeeding counsellors, I'm not sure what terminology is used by La Leche League or the Breastfeeding Network. Those are the three organisations I know of inthe uk who provide bf advice so I would contact one of them to find out, they all have helplines you can call if you google. Sorry not to be more helpful.

Hi Darlingclem, many congratulations on your baby boy. My son arrived on Monday 10th, so we are just a few days behind you and can empathise massively (just finished expressing myself at 3.30am!). For practical, expert Breastfeeding support I cannot recommend Clare Byam Cook highly enough. If you google her you will see her book and DVD on the subject (which are both excellent). She came out to see me when my eldest son was born and also was in my house TODAY believe it or not to help with some issues I am having second time round. She is utterly brilliant, and today she sorted issues with engorged breasts as well as adjusting my latch so it's not painful. I also discussed with her and made a plan to ensure my son is taking enough milk to gain more weight as he lost 10% of his weight in week 1. She is absolutely not militant about Breastfeeding except to say she provides practical support - the 'how' (whereas so many others just tell you why it's important without telling you how to do it). She carries a breast pump and nipple shields with her, and also believes some women for various reasons cannot feed, and so offers practical advice for formula feeding in these cases. She is based in Putney, not sure if she would travel to Queens park but you can always go to her. I will PM you her number. On a different note I can recommend Jelonet as an alternative to Lansinoh for sore nipples. It's like a patch with lanolin. It's by Smith and Nephew, you want the 5x5cm one, and your pharmacist can order in a box for you. I really hope you get the support you need and all the very best! Xxx

Hi ladies--

I spoke to the Queens Park lady today and she was really lovely. Straight away she asked what type of birth I had (he was assisted with ventouse because his head wouldn't turn) and she said it's very common for women to experience pain on one side if baby was delivered that way because he's out of line. She explained it as him having whiplash so when he's on my right side he's uncomfortable and actually unable to open his mouth wide enough, she's recommended me seeing a cranial osteopath and one is at her drop-in clinic on Tuesday, she said it's something that can usually be fixed straight away. I am also having her come by tomorrow to help me make sure my position and latch is ok, I didn't want to wait until Tuesday if that was something that could be fixed straight away.

I had contacted a couple other LC but still yet to hear back from them so grateful she got back to be straight away. Maybe the lady at Bumps and Babies just had a bad experience.

Glad you spoke with Cordelia - shes great and feels passionately about helping people establish bfing. The Tuesday sessions get v busy so go armed with cash for treatment and ready to wait your turn (I'd suggest arriving as early as possible). Hope all settles down soon for you.

Congratulations on your baby! Find a local La Leche Legue meeting - worth a 100 lactation consultants put together. You will find real mums who most likely will have had a similar problem and will be able to help. They also always have an experienced BF councillor participating in the meeting.

The terms are tricky. There are three large groups of BF helpers: 1. People who work through one of the four UK charities.

1. IBCLCs
2. Other people

1. Won't charge you. Workers are supervised and supported. Each of the four charities has their own term, but there is a level of qualification that means you can take calls, work on your own. NCT and ABM call them BFCs. BfN calls them Supporters. LLL calls them Leaders I think?

1. Will probably charge you - unless they are also in category 1. They have a standard level of qualification. I think they are maybe better on technical details (how lactation works) than category 1 (or at least better than the least-knowledgeable of category 1, iyswim), but not necessarily as good on listening/counselling skills. They do things like tongue tie division as well, which I'm pretty sure nobody in category 1 would do. Lots of people who are IBCLCs trained with one of the charities to begin with.

1. Anyone can say they are a BFC, without any specific training or knowledge. Yeah, right, who would use a random person? Well, one of the foremost 'experts' on BF in the UK, Clare Byam-Cook, belongs in this category. Yes, she's a nurse, and trained as a midwife, a long time ago, but she has no specific BF training or qualifications as far as I can tell. There are probably some great BF experts out there who are working outside of the above two categories, but this category seems quite dodgy generally.