When you are pregnant it is normal for you to be focused on the birth. Your mind is set on that one event. The day your baby arrives! And you have mot likely thought of all the wonderful hours you are going to be breastfeeding your baby, the moments you will spend lovingly looking at your baby while he/she breastfeeds! You may have heard that some people struggle , but in your mind that is not going to be you. Your mind will just not let you go there! But the reality is that there can be many challenges you could face on your breastfeeding journey. Ignoring the possibility that things may not go smoothly can lead to great disappointment if you do face difficulties. By doing a class that prepares you for the reality of the difficulties that you could face, you will be much more prepared to manage those difficulties. The Baby Assist course is offers insight into the functioning of the breast and how to negotiate some of the most common problems that can occur.
This situation has occurred as babies do not always follow our agenda. If your baby arrives before you finish Wendy will gift you a free private post natal visit. So you don’t miss out on anything important.
When you engage the services of an LC, who is a qualified IBCLC, you will have many years of experience and study at your disposal to help you navigate the difficulties you may be having with breastfeeding. The ability to diagnose the problem and come up with a feeding plan comes from many years of watching babies feed! It is this valuable experience that provide you with the help you need.
Currently Wodonga hospital do not allow private allied health workers to come into the hospital to consult with patients. There are Lactation Consultants that work at the hospital as well as the midwives who can assist you with the initial difficulties. One you are discharged however I will be available for consultations to help you with any difficulties you may be experiencing. Please go to the infant feeding section to get assistance.
This will largely depend on availability. Wendy usually consults from Sarkon medical centre as this enables her to see more patients in a day. A home visit can be discussed if this is what you would prefer and it is feasible for me to accommodate this
Because the whole purpose of an appointment with a Lactation Consultant is to evaluate how your baby is feeding it is important to try and ensure that your baby is ready to feed when you arrive for the appointment. In order to achieve this please try feed your baby 3 to 4 hours prior to the appointment. This may mean that you will need to adjust the feeds in the 12 hours leading up to this time. If your baby wakes and is hungry before you leave for your appointment PLEASE DON’T FEED YOUR BABY! I know this is really hard but if you use a dummy and try sooth your baby back to sleep then you can start feeding as soon as you arrive for the appointment. You are your baby will benefit the most if the entire feed can be observed.