Lactation consultants on Meela are certified, client-recommended, and vetted by licensed medical practitioners. Find one near you.
Create a free account, and we'll bring top lactation experts to you.
Get started1,000+ childbirth experts
Client recommended, 97% 5-star reviews
Vetted by licensed medical practitioners
Verified client testimonials
Meela is the trusted place for parents to find top-rated lactation consultants, connecting over 1,700 parents with vetted professionals each month. Reach out to lactation consultants directly, or answer a few questions and let us bring you the best available options near you. All for free, no strings attached.
Our lactation experts include IBCLCs, IBCLEs, CLCs and more. They are the best of the best and hold the highest standards of evidence-based, inclusive, and compassionate care. Each verified professional on Meela is vetted by a licensed medical professional and comes with multiple client recommendations, active certifications, and has extensive training and experience in perinatal care.
4 reviews • 13 families supported • 2 years experience
0 reviews • 200 families supported • 13 years experience
3 reviews • 43 families supported • 3 years experience
A certified lactation consultant is a professional that helps parents address and solve their breastfeeding problems. Many new parents believe that breastfeeding is easy, only to find more obstacles than anticipated. 92% of parents say they are having problems with breastfeeding their new baby within only 3 days.
Nursing doesn’t always come naturally.
Breastfeeding can be overwhelming and all-consuming. A lactation consultant in Ankeny, IA can identify issues such as low milk supply, latching problems, or nipple engorgement. They also offer advice and techniques to help parents understand existing issues, improve how they read their baby’s cues, and feel empowered about breastfeeding despite existing social norms.
Every parent’s journey is unique, and there might be specific challenges or obstacles in your particular situation. The ultimate goal of a lactation consultant is to support parents who choose to breastfeed their children. A lactation consultant in Ankeny, IA can often save parents time and energy, and also give them some peace of mind.
Many mothers also face issues where they cannot breastfeed in the workplace or lack the family support or time to ensure that their child is breastfed correctly. A lactation consultant in Ankeny, IA can also provide a significant amount of moral support, diagnose breastfeeding issues, and solve latching, positioning, and scheduling issues.
To find a lactation specialist in Ankeny, IA, most parents recommend creating a job post on Meela and having uniquely qualified lactation experts near you (in your budget) reach out to you through the Meela app.
You can interview and chat with as many lactation specialists as you wish and hire a lactation consultant with confidence. It is completely free to create a job post on Meela and find a lactation consultant. There are no commitments to hire any of the qualified and expert vetted experts Meela brings you.
Here’s how it works in 3 easy steps:
To find a lactation consultant, you can also browse the available professionals near you in Ankeny, IA and read reviews, compare pricing, experience and fit. Send the lactation consultants you are interested in a message, introducing yourself and setting up an interview. We recommend reaching out to and interviewing at least three lactation consultants before hiring a lactation specialist near you. After interviewing, hire the most qualified lactation specialist near you and start getting the care you deserve.
The cost of a lactation consultant can vary based on a variety of factors, including their experience, their services, and their skills or specializations. Overall, the average cost of a lactation consultant in Ankeny, IA is $185 per hour based on a survey of 120 lactation specialists in the Ankeny, IA area.
Under the Affordable Care Act, many insurance companies should be covering the cost of lactation services. However, there are a number of factors that determine whether insurance will cover the cost of a certified lactation consultant in Ankeny, IA. You should contact your insurance company for more information.
Here are some factors to consider regarding insurance and your lactation consultant cost:
Meela’s network of lactations specialists in Ankeny, IA offer both in-home lactation support sessions or virtual lactation support sessions. Both types of sessions typically last between 1 and 3 hours. In your sessions, your lactation specialist will spend time understanding the issues you are facing and work with you and your baby to diagnose the issues have and also provide specific guidance and hands-on practice and exercises.
Lactation consultants help parents understand the best way to comfortably breastfeed their baby and help them navigate breastfeeding social norms. They can also help reduce stress and anxiety about breastfeeding, or help with specific challenges (such as breastfeeding twins, for example). Other parents might just want emotional support that doesn’t currently exist within their family, workplace, or network or friends.
Certified lactation consultants can also help with specialized issues that may arise with premature children or sick children. A parent may not have thought about breastfeeding help until they notice that their baby isn’t gaining weight properly, and finally realize that they might need some support and knowledge before continuing to breastfeed. On the other hand, some parents might prepare with a lactation consultant months before the baby is born.
Whether you are planning ahead or are thinking about a lactation now that you are having breastfeeding issues or concerns, a lactation consultant can be incredibly helpful and useful for parents.
Lactation counselors in Ankeny, IA can often help parents with breastfeeding and offer breastfeeding advice, training, and troubleshooting. Many of these counselors have taken the CLC exam, or the Certified Lactation Counselor exam. A certified lactation counselor has typically undergone 45 hours of training.
On the other hand, a certified lactation consultant in Ankeny, IA has undergone a specific amount of clinical training hours, which is not a requirement to become a lactation counselor. These lactation consultants are certified by the International Board of Certified Lactation Consultants, as well. A lactation consultant typically has a bachelor’s degree in a health field and has undergone 90 hours of training and has somewhere between 300 and 1,000 hours of experience with parents.
Lactation consultants in Ankeny, IA are often working with other healthcare teams in collaboration with postpartum nurses to ensure that parents understand how to breastfeed their babies. Both lactation consultants and lactation counselors can provide support, develop feeding plans, and offer actionable advice with respect to breastfeeding.
The best approach is for parents to hire a lactation specialist early in their pregnancy so that they can help you prepare both mentally and physically. Parents don’t need to wait until your baby is born to begin thinking about breastfeeding support and education.
Some parents might be anxious about breastfeeding in public or feel like they want access to a breastfeeding expert to help both inform and support them. A lactation consultant in Ankeny, IA can also help young professional parents schedule their breastfeeding efficiently so that they can return to work quicker, while others might specialize in helping with breastfeeding anxiety issues.
It is never too late to hire a certified lactation consultant in Ankeny, IA. These breastfeeding consultants can also offer emotional breastfeeding support that can be valuable to those who lack family or workplace support. A lactation consultant can also be critical in identifying warning signs that might indicate more serious growth or developmental issues.
There are many documented benefits to breastfeeding, and parents often believe that it will be an easy and natural experience. Unfortunately, many parents run into issues such as low milk supply, nipple engorgement, or latching problems that can affect their baby’s health. These lactation specialists can be useful for troubleshooting, advice, or emotional support.
Certified lactation consultants can strengthen the bond between parents and their babies through breastfeeding advice, tips, and support. This might include showing parents how to help their baby latch properly, establishing feeding schedules, or dealing with sore nipples or engorgement. A lactation consultant can help new parents better understand their baby’s needs in general, and monitor the baby’s growth and development.
Lactation specialists in Ankeny, IA also offer emotional support and help parents breastfeed more efficiently so that they can get back to work and allow them to better manage expectations. Many parents face issues where they cannot breastfeed in the workplace, or do not have the family support or time to ensure that their child is breastfed properly and with care. These expert consultants can also provide a significant amount of moral support, diagnose breastfeeding issues, while also solving issues such as latching, positioning, and scheduling.
Sarah
February 4, 2023 at 2:59 pm | Peer reviewSydney has been a doula for my program’s Doula Program for a while now and she is always someone we can depend on to go above and beyond for our clients and a lot of clients request to work with her! She not only supports clients through their pregnancy, birth and early postpartum period, she also does all that she can to connect them to services when need and make sure they have the resources they need to be successful parents.
I even referred one of my best friends to Sydney when she became pregnant and Sydney was an amazing support as her doula! My friend was really going through a lot and needed a lot of flexibility which Sydney was 100% able to give and she went out of her way to make my friend feel comfortable in all stages.
Sydney worked through her birth plan with her and really took the time to build rapport and grow a connection with my friend. She also was instrumental in combating some of the pregnancy, birth and parenting myths that my friend’s family was upholding and taught my friend a lot about infant care and breastfeeding. I would recommend her to anyone going through pregnancy and birth!