Breastfeeding During a Pandemic: Our Lactation Team is here for You

It’s the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife and we are celebrating the fact that midwifery care is associated with significantly higher rates of breastfeeding. Yay, midwives! In fact, 90% of LWC babies are still breastfeeding at six weeks as compared to less than 50% nationwide. Now that’s cause for celebration!

We are equally thrilled to announce that we saw a 67% increase in lactation visits from 2018 to 2019! Our IBCLCs are working hard to make lactation support accessible to more and more people, even during the pandemic.

While we are still seeing clients for in-person lactation consultations, we have also added telehealth visits to our list of comprehensive lactation services. Our team approach to care includes review and diagnoses by our midwives, and access to prescription and lab work which means we are able to bill most major insurance providers including United Healthcare, Highmark Blue Shield, and Keystone First (your visit may involve a copay or be applied to your deductible).

We’ve also seen an increase in attendance at all four of our Breastfeeding Support Groups. To keep that momentum going, we have continued to host the groups over Zoom until we can safely convene in person again. One of the most important things we do is help people find their “tribe.” Receiving encouragement, guidance, inspiration, and professional support, as well as having the opportunity to share, ask questions, solicit advice, and offer suggestions is of paramount importance in every new parent’s journey.

Interested in joining us? Check our website for upcoming dates and times. We encourage people to attend any and all of the groups since geography is not currently an issue. Email Nikki Graham to receive the Zoom login information you will need to join virtually.

Photo by Meg Brock Photography