Finding the Right lactation Consultant

Finding a Lactation Consultant Near ME

The San Francisco Bay Area is teeming with new life and vivre! It is no big surprise that we have a very high birth rate, given our population of childbearing workers and a bustling tech industry! We are a hub to Google, Facebook, Uber, LinkedIn, Apple, GAP and many other successful organizations! 

Silicon Valley, SF and the East Bay all have their own care providers that specialize in the field of pregnancy, birth and postpartum. They work together collaboratively and individually to meet your needs. Having a baby for many people is a once in a lifetime event, and you deserve to have the best help that you can find! 

Here is a little summary of the issue that I wrote up for you, as you think about hiring a Midwife, Doula, or Lactation Consultant in the near future.

1.) You are pregnant or plan to be soon! Congratulations, you now have need of the services of someone experienced in childbirth and breastfeeding, non-pharmacological pain management during labor, childbirth classes, and breastfeeding classes, and lactation consults.

2.) Probably you are looking through lots of YELP profile pictures trying to pick a photo that resonates with your soul. A certain hairstyle, age or look is unlikely to be a useful focal point here. You most likely have used the Find a Lactation Consultant Near Me feature for google maps trying to see if that helps. Ultimately what assists many families is a proper information gathering search on a webpage versus using powers of divination! 
Some questions to ask yourself might be:

What things are important to you? What is their vaccination status? A person’s background education in lactation or birth? What certifying body they trained with? How many years were they in practice for? What other families think of them? Whether they take a hands off approach? Trauma informed care? You have to think about what type of person you would like in your personal space and whether they will attend to your needs.

3.) Evaluate all of your alternatives for providers. Make a short list of what is very important, and just a little important to you. Think about what type of insurance coverage you have, and whether they have Lactation Consultants that are in-network. In the California Bay Area, some of the big players in the insurance world are United, Cigna, Hill Physicians, Aetna, Anthem, and Blue Shield of California.

United and Cigna for the most part do not reimburse anything no matter what they tell you. You will have to use PAMF for Cigna and United or be willing to pay out of pocket.
​
For Anthem, you can get a GAP extension for out of network coverage. For Hill Physicians I am in-network, but you will need to check with other providers individually. My suggestion is that you load up your FSA card so that you can hire an out of network LC if you have Kaiser.

3.) Make a short list of nearby Lactation Consultants. Now that you have made a list of possible candidates, think about the next step!

How does a regular person evaluate a specialist for competency? I would suggest that they search for detailed reviews on YELP. Are they active locally near you? Has anyone wrote a good or bad review about them? Did they answer your email promptly? Did your Doctor know who they were? What have your friends that were successful said about having a lactation specialist, and what were their names?

4.) Search for a Connection. Did you read warmth from their voice or email interaction? What stands out to you on an emotional level or spiritual level? What is it that this person can offer you in particular outside of their clinical knowledge? Do you feel safer with this person in your corner?

Now that you have thought about all of these things as part of your quest to have the best experience possible, let me remind you that your gut instinct is probably right. No matter how good someone seems on paper, they need to give you the right feeling. If they seem warm and you can imagine hanging out with them (and being comfortable), that is a good indicator that you might have the right fit.

If you are interested in working with me you can find me at Bay Area Breastfeeding Support, I look forward to hearing from you!

Warmly,

Serena Meyer RN IBCLC