“I’m pregnant with my second child and planning to breastfeed. I had an extremely challenging experience with my daughter and ended up exclusively pumping for about 5 months. My confidence level is pretty low, so I’m planning for lactation support soon after my baby is born. I was wondering if you offer prenatal consultations or if you would recommend I sign-up for a breastfeeding class.”

Yes!  A prenatal consultation or private breastfeeding class would be perfect for you. You can address your specific challenges and fears in a safe, private setting.

Many lactation consultants are happy to meet with you prior to your baby’s birth to help prevent problems. It can be very helpful to establish a relationship with someone before a situation is urgent and you’re feeling stressed. These prenatal meetings are particularly helpful under the following circumstances.

1. You were unable to breastfeed your first baby. Perhaps you felt you didn’t have enough milk, or breastfeeding was painful. Or maybe you breastfed a previous baby but it was not enjoyable.
2. You are afraid of all the challenges you’ve read about online.
3. You have experienced a hospital-based breastfeeding class and it didn’t meet your needs. You want a private, individualized class to discuss exactly what YOU want to discuss.
4. You have had trauma or surgery on your breasts or chest—including augmentation or reduction.
5. Your breasts are very different from each other in size and/or shape. Breasts are never absolutely identical, but marked asymmetry can indicate an underlying problem.
6. You are expecting a baby who may have special challenges. Or you are expecting twins or more!
7. You have a medical situation or injury that may require creativity when positioning yourself and baby for breastfeeding.
8. You have an endocrine disorder such as diabetes or hypo- or hyper-thyroid.
9. You were unable to get pregnant naturally—needing help with fertility.
10. You are taking medication that you’re concerned about continuing while breastfeeding.