FORT WAYNE NEWBORN & FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER | Preparing to Breastfeed Before your Baby Arrives (Tips from Lactation Specialist, Ronae Cleland)

As you know- breastfeeding can be both an amazing bonding experience and, at times, a bit of a challenge!

That's where lactation specialists come in!

These experts can be a total game-changer when it comes to guiding and supporting you through your breastfeeding journey. Today, I’m chatting with Ronae Cleland, a Lactation Specialist in Fort Wayne. She’s going to discuss all things breastfeeding to help you take the guess work out of breastfeeding.

Ronae Cleland, Birth Encouraged Doula & Lactation Services

Personal note: My sister had her second son at an advanced age last year and was faced with many of the issues Ronae addresses below. :)

Let’s dig in!

1. Can you tell me about your education and certifications in lactation as a specialty?

   
   

   I have been a Certified Lactation Specialist (through Lactation Education Resources) since 2021, and have continued pursuing further education and learning ever since.

2. If someone is thinking about hiring a lactation specialist, when should they reach out?

   
   

   If someone is thinking they may need support from a lactation specialist, reaching out sooner rather than later is always preferred! It is often easier to correct habits and adjust approaches early on to make the biggest difference in the shortest amount of time. If a mom is experiencing painful latches while her baby is nursing, and especially if she is facing anything like bleeding or cracked nipples, I would definitely recommend reaching out for help. If a baby is struggling to gain weight and a mom has been encouraged by her pediatrician to begin supplementing with formula, that too would be a circumstance in which I would encourage her to include the support of a lactation specialist in order to be able to address any potential supply or transfer issues that are affecting the baby's weight gain. (It is important to remember that while pediatricians are experts in infant and child development and care, they often do not have extensive lactation training, and their aim is appropriately to ensure the baby is growing adequately by any means - and often the quickest and easiest fix is supplementing with formula; but if a mother would prefer to ideally be able to exclusively breastfeed without additional supplementation, often that will require proper lactation support to simultaneously address her milk supply.) On the other end of the spectrum, if a mom is struggling with an oversupply that is causing repeated blocked ducts and even bouts with mastitis, touching base with a lactation specialist can help make sure she has strategies to address and ideally prevent those complications going forward. 

   
   

3. What are the most common reasons moms come to see you?

   
   

   The most common lactation-related calls I receive are from moms struggling with breastfeeding. Whether it's a mom who hasn't been able to get her newborn to latch comfortably and wants some tips on positioning for the best comfort, or a mom who is struggling with her milk supply and wants to know if there are things she can do to increase milk production, or a mom with an oversupply that is causing painful blocked ducts - I am more than happy to meet with moms in any stage of breastfeeding to come alongside them and help them troubleshoot.

   
   

4. How do you tailor your services to meet the unique needs of each client?

   
   

   Both my experience and my training have equipped me to be able to tailor my support and services to individual families with diverse needs and goals. I myself have had a variety of breastfeeding experiences personally with my 5 kids over a grand total of 137 months of breastfeeding, which allows me to be able to relate emotionally and practically to different circumstances families may find themselves in. When I am coming alongside a family, I want to make sure that any advice is practical and something they are able to follow through on. If they don't realistically think they can follow through on a certain plan, we discuss what altering that plan might look like to make it more sustainable, as well as perhaps altering expectations if needed. 

   
   

5. What resources do you recommend for new moms to help them succeed in breastfeeding?

   
   

   I always provide clients with a list of local breastfeeding support groups. We are fortunate in Fort Wayne to have a support group available almost any day of the week, so if a mom is really struggling one day, she is often able to get into a group the very next day for peer support and/or support from an IBCLC. This is my top recommendation for moms to be able to have regular continued check-ins and encouragement - and, as an added bonus, that support is completely free!

   
   

   When I have the benefit of seeing clients prior to birth (like I do with my birth doula clients), I absolutely encourage them to take a breastfeeding class, and for their partner/support person to attend as well so that they also have some basic education and tips on how to support the new mom in her breastfeeding goals. I am happy to provide to my clients a list of available breastfeeding classes, with a combination of options for in-person and virtual classes, as well as more extensive paid classes versus more basic free classes. 

   
   

6. How do you approach issues like low milk supply, latching difficulties, or painful breastfeeding?

   
   

   I believe that in-person support is always best for these kinds of situations. With latching difficulties and painful breastfeeding, being able to observe a feed gives me the opportunity to help figure out if a few minor adjustments can be made to make breastfeeding more comfortable, or if something more complex may be at play such as tension or ties within the baby's body (in which case I would provide a referral for further examination). For low milk supply, I am able to help families map out a plan of action to 1) ensure that the baby or pump is able to effectively remove all milk that the mom is producing, and 2) understand and execute the steps needed for the mom's body to begin increasing milk supply, including following up (whether with me or another professional) to ensure that the plan is working for the family. 

   
   

7. What is your experience with helping moms return to work while continuing to breastfeed?

   
   

   I have had many clients who return to work but want to continue providing breastmilk to their babies. In these cases, the first thing we do is make sure that the mom has a good plan in place for pumping - including support from her workplace (and knowing what provisions her workplace is legally obligated to provide to make this possible); understanding and optimizing a pumping schedule; having a quality pump that is conducive to pumping at work; continuing to breastfeed her baby directly before and after work and during non-working hours; and ensuring that she and any caregivers that care for her baby understand and are willing to utilize paced feeding to prevent over-feeding her baby while she is away from them. 

   
   

8. How do you support moms in making informed decisions about breastfeeding and weaning?

   
   

   With any birth- or breastfeeding-related decision, I think it's always helpful to talk through benefits, risks, alternatives, intuition, and waiting more time before making a decision (using the BRAIN acronym for those who have heard of that) - so I find that to be a helpful place to start the discussion. If we're talking about weaning from breastfeeding, we can ask things like:

   
   

        B - Benefits: What would be the benefits of weaning (or rather, what is your "why" for wanting to wean) at this point? What would be the benefits for you? For your baby? For your family/lifestyle?

   
   

        R - Risks: What would be the risks of weaning now (i.e., are there good reasons not to wean quite yet)? For you: Do you know that your risk of several cancers decreases the longer you continue to breastfeed? For your baby: Are there significant times coming up (such as flu season, approaching holiday gatherings, or beginning daycare) during which they would lose out on the protection and immune benefits provided by breastfeeding? Have you considered that the recommendations from leading health organizations (AAP and WHO) for optimal benefits is minimum breastfeeding duration of 2 years?

   
   

        A - Alternatives: Breastfeeding doesn't have to be all or nothing. Have you considered just night weaning (if your baby/toddler is an appropriate age for this)? Decreasing breastfeeding sessions while keeping some or putting limits/boundaries on those sessions? Keeping some pumping sessions at work but not nursing at home - or the opposite, weaning yourself from pumping at work but continuing to breastfeed before and after work?

   
   

         I - Intuition: What does your intuition say? What feels best for your specific, individual situation?

   
   

        N - Nothing: What would it look like if you did nothing differently for now and re-evaluated 3 or 6 months down the road?

   
   

   Ultimately, just like breastfeeding, weaning is a personal decision and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone. Each person should fully consider their individual situation, and the BRAIN acronym is one way to go about that. No matter what they choose, each mom deserves to feel supported in her decisions as she seeks the best course for her baby, herself, and her family. 

Make sure to follow birthencouraged on Instagram to learn about what other services she offers and more breastfeeding tips!

Click here to learn more about working with Ronae & all the amazing work she does at Birth Encouraged!