Breastfeeding Specialist,
Mobile Lactation Services
Breastfeeding Specialist,
Mobile Lactation Services
Help With Breastfeeding is Just a Phone Call Away!
I'm a paragraph. Click once to begin entering your own content. You can change my font, size, line height, color and more by highlighting part of me and selecting the options from the toolbar.
Posted on November 7, 2016 at 4:44 PM |
![]() |
Hello everyone time for an update. I am still doing home
visits for one on one help with breastfeeding all over long beach and
surrounding areas. I still teach BSN students mostly
from West Coast University. I am also the full time Lactation Consultant for
Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, Interestingly I am the only
Lactation Consultant we have and we deliver about 300 babies a month. So needless
to say I am really busy. I am constantly
studying because the field of Lactation is growing at a very rapid rate and research
is finding new information every day. Plus I don’t want to become a quack, so I
need to stay updated. That’s one of the reasons I came to the hospital is to learn
breastfeeding from a clinical perspective and to have a chance to work with all
sorts of situations. Doing home visits for the last 6 years along with my years
at WIC has taught me a lot I did not learn in a book. Everyone has their own views and values and you would be
amazed at how different breastfeeding challenges can be from one person to the
next. I have worked with all nationalities, in various atmospheres at varying intervals
of lactation ranging from one hour old infants, to two year old toddlers, from
young poor teen parents, to wealthy middle-aged couples in their homes. I have
helped Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Pilipino, Korean, Armenian, and
Indian, Turkish and Russians, even some refugees whose visit was more nodding
and sign language than actual conversation. I have been blessed to
work with babies who are premature, have Down syndrome, cleft palates, trisomy
13, hematomas, broken clavicles and pelvis bones, torticolis and clubbed feet.
Babies exposed to drugs like heroin and methamphetamines. I have worked with
babies who didn’t make it through the hospital stay, but were able to spend a
precious few days breastfeeding before going to heaven. I have learned so much but daily it is
apparent that there is so much more to learn. Working in the hospital has given
me an opportunity to see firsthand many of the challenges mothers and
professionals face postpartum. When I come to work every day the nurses are always happy to
see me, they say “yah Sandra’s here” then they give me a list of people to see
in mother baby unit, Peds and NICU. It’s really nice to be needed. See before I
came people told the nurses not to give formula but no one taught them how not
to give it. I teach them how to listen to the patients concern, help with breastfeeding
and I give them tools they can use to prevent or delay supplementing during the
hospital stay, with empathy and compassion. Also in the hospital you have to
deal with numbers. There are goals and measure sets, like Baby Friendly’s exclusive
breastfeeding rates and Perinatal Core measures by the Joint Commission and CDC
that determine how well a hospital is functioning. On top of that some doctors don’t mild a little supplement in
the early days and they really don’t like us using alternative feeding methods
like syringes to feed newborns. Now I know that sounds crazy right? Why would a
doctor not push for exclusive breastfeeding? But here’s the deal. First of all
exclusive breastfeeding when it is not going well can pose a risk if the infant
is not being well hydrated and taking in enough calories. Even though any
Lactation Consultant will tell you 99% of mothers produce breastmilk, colostrum
comes in small amounts and can be temporarily delayed
based on several factors. Match that with sore nipples and Peer Review and you
have a doctor who says just give a little formula with a nipple and follow up
with a Lactation Consultant. When a patient is readmitted after recently being
discharged a doctor has to go before a board of his peers to determine if he handled
the patient correctly before discharging. As far as alternative feeding methods
they are afraid someone will choke and they feel babies eat more when given by
artificial nipple. Now with respect to delays
just think when a mother has a cesarean she is laid on her back for the first
12-24 hours, not given any water or food and is instead given liquids through
her I.V. So day one she is very
uncomfortable, dehydrated and in pain. On day two she can finally start to move
but she has a lot of swelling form the fluids. Colostrum is now temporarily delayed
from the edema, even though she did see colostrum on day one. By this time the
nurse is encouraging mom to get up and walk. Mom has sore nipples, she is
trying to pass gas, have a bowel movement and start eating regular food. The
baby is in second day syndrome is fussy wants to curl up with mom and eat
frequently. I always say day one doesn’t tell the story days two does.
Due to the delay the baby will stop pooping and possibly becomes a little jaundice
or stop peeing and get a little dehydrated. This is when the mom and the doctor
start demanding formula. When breastfeeding is going well it’s wonderful but when it
is not going well it can be very challenging. Some babies make me sweat and
really work for my money. Each time I walk into a room or a new home, I don’t know
what I will see until that door swings open. There are no blanket answers I
give people. I take all of my knowledge and all of my experience and when I get
there, I throw it all out and deal with the person right in front of me. Each
family has to be assessed separately and individual care plans will vary based
on each person, the current situation, the efficacy of the mother and infant
and the milk supply. |
Posted on January 14, 2014 at 1:37 PM |
![]() |
Posted on May 15, 2012 at 5:40 PM |
![]() |
Posted on December 31, 2011 at 11:25 AM |
![]() |
Hay Everybody sorry I haven't bloged in a while but we have been soo busy. It became clear right away that a small private practice is gonna be too hard without some funding, so we have decided to become a non-profit organization. I have been choosing my board members, and finalizing our Mission Statement, our Core Values and Guiding Principles, which is really hard to do! We have a meeting coming in January to get that ball running. The Lord has blessed me to have wonderful friends who know a lot about non-profits, and I'm so greatful cause I know breastfeeding but becoming a non-profit is out of my scope. Our Grand Opening is on Saturday January 21, 2012 so keep your ears and eyes open for more information on that. Our Website has up to 1700 hits and growing daily. We have added two new pages to our website where you can purchase our Hand made one of a kind jewelery or Logo items, Thanks Pay pal. We can easily be found on the Internet thru over 20 search profiles and that number is growing Daily. |
Posted on December 12, 2011 at 2:48 PM |
![]() |
Well today I feel complexed. I'm dealing with the parts of building a business I do not know anything about. Do I want to be come a for profit business or do I become a non-profit corporation. Either way we can make money but if we are a for- profit corporation I will have a lot more of the responsibility and liability on me. Also if I go for profit now I will not be able to change it easily later. If I decide to become a non- profit corporation then I'm looking at around $3,000 an a lot of work building a board of directors and bylaws and all that stuff. Then there will be a whole bunch of politics and other peoples opinions. But I will be able to get grants and tax breaks. I just wanna be a small private practice. This part is confusing. Whew! I'm scratching my head y'all. If you could see my room we have big posted notes all over the walls we been brain storming and working to get this business going. So say a prayer for us. If you know any pregnant people give the my number. If you know anything about business and can offer me some advice please call me. Thanks for Visiting! |
Posted on December 5, 2011 at 1:24 PM |
![]() |
Posted on November 18, 2011 at 8:18 PM |
![]() |
This was a good week. We have been really busy getting things together and making contacts. We have been selling raffle tickets to buy equipment so don't miss out a hundred dollars will come in really handy at the begginning of the new year. By the way we changed the date for the raffle to January 16th 2012 because that is the day of our grand opening. We had our first prenatal class which was very successful. Thanks to everyone who helped make it a blast. We filled up our glass case in our office with Logo items for sale like tote bags and t-shirts. We have been passing out cards like crazy! We put our name on our window with a window decal thanks to Vista Print. Our Ad campaign is moving slowly but it is moving. We are up to almost 700 clicks on our website so check us out. If I have ever helped you with breastfeeding and you would like for me to put your babies picture on the website email it to me at [email protected] or text it to me at 562-674-8500. Thanks for listening! |
Posted on November 11, 2011 at 3:05 PM |
![]() |
Posted on November 8, 2011 at 2:25 PM |
![]() |
When I woke up the morning of October 28th, like every morning I Timmy wakes me to a kiss and says gimmy money I gotta go and Tyrece is in the shower. I got up gave him money and a hug and closed the door. I went straight to the computer and logged into the IBCLE website. I put in the number on the letter they sent and I sat there for a moment as my brain came to clarity on the blue little P next to my number. I screamed I passed! I passed! I resisted running down the street to catch my son. On Monday I got my certificate and badge in the mail. The letter that came with it stated that I am certified for 5 years and I can write IBCLC behind my name. WOW! I updated my website with my new title. My dream has always been to open a private practice where I can give mothers the help they need. With out a lot of politics and red tape and restrictions. Free to help moms in a way they feel comfortable and in the environment they chose. On Tuesday I was walking down the street when I passed an office I had passed many times before. Funny thing I could not tell what this office was for. A lady stepped out as I was passing. I asked her so what does this office do? She stated they are UR Business Here a marketing company that helps to promote other businesses. Of course I went In. This is how I found my office space. I started doing some brain storming on how I could put my business together. On Wednesday I paid for a space in the office. Needing money to get started I began a raffle and got my first appointment through a referral. On Thursday I went to City Hall and La County Registrar-Recorders office to handle my name and license. On Friday we planned our first class and stared working on flyers and sign age. |
Posted on November 7, 2011 at 1:44 PM |
![]() |
When I had my first baby I automatically breastfeed. Since my sister had breastfed I just did it naturally without hesitation. With the second baby since she had Jaundice and I didn't know any better I only formula fed. The difference in immunity was so obvious that when I had the third baby I automatically went back to breastfeeding. While attending a breastfeeding class at my local WIC office, I was offered a job working partime to help encourage other mothers to breastfeed. Not only did I enjoy helping other mothers with their breastfeeding concerns I also found something I was good at! The United States Department of Agriculture has education programs that offer scholarships to women who want to expand their education. Through these scholarship programs and the education reimbursement programs that WIC offered I was able to go back to school. WIC hired me as a breastfeeding mentor. Then a WIC Receptionist. Then I became a Peer Counselor, WIC Nutrition Assistant II, a Certified Lactation Educator, a Peer Counselor II, and Then I got a scholarship for a Lactation Consultant Course and finally this July I was able to sit for the exam for International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. I would like to thank so many people who helped me and believed in me. Thank you to Suparb Chiaravanont for teaching me to focus! To Susan Aldana who will always be my mentor. To my family who put up with me and supported me. To all my friends who where forced to help me with homework. To The WIC Nutrition Corps and the Soroptomist Foundation who gave me my scholarships. Thank You from the bottom of my heart! |