Should You Use a Lactation Consultant?
Are you an expecting dad or mom contemplating using a lactation consultant? In this episode of The Lab, Daddy Clay and Daddy Brad tackle this subject. They speak with lactation consultant Christine Kovach who advises checking with a doctor, hospital, or midwife to find one. She tells us how helping out with breastfeeding moms can be valuable for dads. She also discusses the nutrition, intellectual, and economic benefits of breast feeding your baby. If you've had experience with lactation consultant, drop a comment on this video or visit our discussion forum at DadLabs.com and tell us more about it. DadLabs Ep. 619 is brought to you by BabyBjorn.
Daddy Brad: As guys, we've hired consultants for all kinds of things. But for boobs? Really?
Daddy Clay: That's right. On today's episode of The Lab, we're talking about lactation consultants.
Daddy Brad: This episode on lactation consultants is brought to you by BabyBjorn. Ecotech certified, safe for your baby, BabyBjorn.
Daddy Clay: So to get the scoop on lactation consultants, what they are, and why they are a dad's new best friend, we spoke to one of Austin's leading lactation consultants, Christina Kovach.
Christine Kovach: I think our culture especially is geared toward the mother-father unit. And a lot of people are separated by geography from their aunts, cousins, sisters, best friends and what used to be a common occurrence. Kids grew up watching their mothers nurse their siblings. Grandmothers showed granddaughters and here for about the last 40 to 60 years, we've lost that. I think taking a breastfeeding class is probably the very best place for couples to start. My husband and I didn't take a class. We felt like a lot of parents that breastfeeding was natural. Why do we need to take a class? And yet, we took a birthing class for six weeks. If you take a birthing class for six weeks to give birth for one day, it seems logical to take a breastfeeding class to nurse 8 to 12 times a day for however many weeks or months or years you want to continue to nurse your child. So for dad, he's often the director. He has to back up and look at the mother and the baby. Where's the weakness? Is she clutching the baby? Does she look stressed out? Does she have her shoulder in her ear? Don't tell her to relax her shoulder. Walk around and massage her shoulder and let her shoulder come down. Put a rolled up receiving blanket under her hand so that if she's had carpal tunnel from doing keyboarding work the whole pregnancy, she has some relief on that hand. Maybe it takes a while for it to get going well before you have that beautiful moment where the birds are singing and the harps are playing but I don't know a man who doesn't look at this wife and feel proud that they're feeding their baby that way. Nutritionally, there's no doubting it. Intellectual benefit for the child, no doubting it. Economically, that's an easy one too. Right now, in this particular community, at this time, formula feeding is $200-$250 a month. When dads realize that, that's buying an infant car seat every single month. I think the best thing to do is start with your hospital, your doctor, your midwife. Say who gives your breast feeding education. If there is no one, go to LaLecheLeague.org or go to the hospital web site and see if there's someone who works for the system. They have to fit with your family. Some people have a very different view on what breastfeeding's gonna look like in their home than other people. And you've gotta find somebody who supports your view.
Daddy Clay: So Daddy Brad, did you employ the services of a lactation consultant yourself? I mean, not yourself, but your wife, your family?
Daddy Brad: Absoboobly. I mean, you want to make sure that you get the breast feeding happening because that way mom breastfeeds and you sleep.
Daddy Clay: That's true. But maybe some dads. You've got to pump a little bit so dads can participate.
Daddy Brad: Yeah, but at night.
Daddy Clay: But definitely, you don't have to worry about the bottles, if you're doing the breast feeding.
Daddy Brad: And it makes mom so much more comfortable when she can, you know, really get a good latch on.
Daddy Clay: And a lot of women, like my own wife, breastfeeding is such a high priority. If that starts to go wrong, it creates incredible stress and upset. I know that happened with us and my wife had an infection. And we brought in a lactation consultant and its had an enormous positive effect on my wife. And eventually she was able to have successful breastfeeding with all three kids and that helped her sense of success, her sense of self-esteem about being a mom. All that was greatly boosted by having a lactation consultant.
Daddy Brad: And it's a lot less expensive. Formula, expensive.
Daddy Clay: So, if you've got thoughts about lactation consultant friend or foe, leave us a comment on this video or join us at DadLabs.com where we're having a conversation in the forums on this subject. We want to see you there.
Daddy Brad: We'd like to thank our sponsor BabyBjorn. Ecotech certified, safe for your baby, BabyBjorn. That's all for us here at DadLabs.
Daddy Clay: So now when it comes to lactation consultants, you are abreast of the latest.
Daddy Clay: That's right. On today's episode of The Lab, we're talking about lactation consultants.
Daddy Brad: This episode on lactation consultants is brought to you by BabyBjorn. Ecotech certified, safe for your baby, BabyBjorn.
Daddy Clay: So to get the scoop on lactation consultants, what they are, and why they are a dad's new best friend, we spoke to one of Austin's leading lactation consultants, Christina Kovach.
Christine Kovach: I think our culture especially is geared toward the mother-father unit. And a lot of people are separated by geography from their aunts, cousins, sisters, best friends and what used to be a common occurrence. Kids grew up watching their mothers nurse their siblings. Grandmothers showed granddaughters and here for about the last 40 to 60 years, we've lost that. I think taking a breastfeeding class is probably the very best place for couples to start. My husband and I didn't take a class. We felt like a lot of parents that breastfeeding was natural. Why do we need to take a class? And yet, we took a birthing class for six weeks. If you take a birthing class for six weeks to give birth for one day, it seems logical to take a breastfeeding class to nurse 8 to 12 times a day for however many weeks or months or years you want to continue to nurse your child. So for dad, he's often the director. He has to back up and look at the mother and the baby. Where's the weakness? Is she clutching the baby? Does she look stressed out? Does she have her shoulder in her ear? Don't tell her to relax her shoulder. Walk around and massage her shoulder and let her shoulder come down. Put a rolled up receiving blanket under her hand so that if she's had carpal tunnel from doing keyboarding work the whole pregnancy, she has some relief on that hand. Maybe it takes a while for it to get going well before you have that beautiful moment where the birds are singing and the harps are playing but I don't know a man who doesn't look at this wife and feel proud that they're feeding their baby that way. Nutritionally, there's no doubting it. Intellectual benefit for the child, no doubting it. Economically, that's an easy one too. Right now, in this particular community, at this time, formula feeding is $200-$250 a month. When dads realize that, that's buying an infant car seat every single month. I think the best thing to do is start with your hospital, your doctor, your midwife. Say who gives your breast feeding education. If there is no one, go to LaLecheLeague.org or go to the hospital web site and see if there's someone who works for the system. They have to fit with your family. Some people have a very different view on what breastfeeding's gonna look like in their home than other people. And you've gotta find somebody who supports your view.
Daddy Clay: So Daddy Brad, did you employ the services of a lactation consultant yourself? I mean, not yourself, but your wife, your family?
Daddy Brad: Absoboobly. I mean, you want to make sure that you get the breast feeding happening because that way mom breastfeeds and you sleep.
Daddy Clay: That's true. But maybe some dads. You've got to pump a little bit so dads can participate.
Daddy Brad: Yeah, but at night.
Daddy Clay: But definitely, you don't have to worry about the bottles, if you're doing the breast feeding.
Daddy Brad: And it makes mom so much more comfortable when she can, you know, really get a good latch on.
Daddy Clay: And a lot of women, like my own wife, breastfeeding is such a high priority. If that starts to go wrong, it creates incredible stress and upset. I know that happened with us and my wife had an infection. And we brought in a lactation consultant and its had an enormous positive effect on my wife. And eventually she was able to have successful breastfeeding with all three kids and that helped her sense of success, her sense of self-esteem about being a mom. All that was greatly boosted by having a lactation consultant.
Daddy Brad: And it's a lot less expensive. Formula, expensive.
Daddy Clay: So, if you've got thoughts about lactation consultant friend or foe, leave us a comment on this video or join us at DadLabs.com where we're having a conversation in the forums on this subject. We want to see you there.
Daddy Brad: We'd like to thank our sponsor BabyBjorn. Ecotech certified, safe for your baby, BabyBjorn. That's all for us here at DadLabs.
Daddy Clay: So now when it comes to lactation consultants, you are abreast of the latest.
written by bobjr79, April 17, 2010
We had heard from some friends that the lactation consultants were "Milk Nazis" and they would make you feel bad if it didn't work out. My wife ignored the warnings and wanted to see what the hospitals consultant had to say. We thought that she was very considerate and helpful. My wife got off to a slow start and the consultant was never Nazi like in any way. My wife even continued to call the consultant after we had left the hospital when she had questions. The best part was that the services were free. Actually I should say that we did not have to pay an extra fee for her help. I now know all too well that nothin' in that hospital is "free".
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In hindsight, I think speaking with someone in the beginning would have been beneficial as I could have avoided the problem in the first place.
On the other hand, most of the information the lactation consultant provided was in the reading that I did online and in texts. So, in a sense, all she did was validate my plan of action. Either way, it's yours and your baby's bodies you're dealing with, and it's nice to have a expert's voice and not just words on a page when trying to solve a problem.
Hope this is helpful.