My good friend (CONGRATULATIONS R!) just had her baby last week. She called me desperate for a Lactation Consultant’s phone number. Since our Directory is not quite finished (cross your fingers for this week!), she couldn’t find a list of LCs. So, here is my list of favorite Lactation Consultants and their reviews to R and everyone else! (Feel free to add your own LC or breastfeeding support groups that you think were helpful) *** I have added the list of La Leche League leaders at the bottom of this post too. Their meetings are helpful and a great way to meet other moms. Don’t worry they aren’t extremists and won’t make you nurse until your baby is 5 years old!
Judy LeVan Fram, PT, IBCLC
(718) 789-9451
I have to recommend Judy Fram, as a lactation consultant. She came to our home for two hours the day after we got back from the hospital and was a life saver. She is a wealth of knowledge, in addition to being comforting and very reassuring. She gave us numerous tips and useful information and answered questions we didn’t even know we had. We had some problems with latching, and she helped shape things we were doing pretty well but not perfectly. It has made all the difference and she remains a resource, encouraging us to call anytime with questions or concerns, or just running things by her. I cannot recommend her highly enough. She really was a life saver.
-Melissa
Tam’ara Hawkins
646-334-3830
I highly recommend Tam’ara Hawkins. I called her after reading reviews off this website. She came to Brooklyn even though she lives in the Bronx. She was very thorough and was great in helping me out with breastfeeding issues and latching on issues. My baby latched on consistently after she came! She also followed up via e-mail and phone calls. She is clinical, but I found her to be supportive and just the type of personality that I needed to help at the time. She wrote specific recommendations and provided some holistic teas, remedies that might also help. She also gave me info on how to try to make a claim with my insurance. Overall, i had a great experience with her. Although, I don’t know how long she will be making house call appointments in Brooklyn because of the commute, so if you can go to her at Cornell, I would!
-ChristeneI met Tamara in the hospital in a breastfeeding clinic. I was having problems on day 2 with latching and she made one quick adjustment that solved my latch problem. She wasn’t the warmest LC, but I appreciated her effective solution. A couple of months later, Tamara came out to my house for a very reasonable fee (about half of what other consultants charge) and spent an hour and a half with me. She did an analysis, observation and gave me an informative two page set of instructions on my problem.(Too much milk production). She called me every day to see how I was doing for 2 weeks! She even went over to my OB/GYN doctor for me and convinced him to write a prescription for me to help with my milk flow. Apparently, she and my GYN had worked together in the past. He respected her expertise enough that he wrote out the prescription on the spot. She even mailed the prescription to me when I was away on vacation. After 2 other lactation consultants, I can recommend her very highly. She is patient, very generous with her time and, overall, very knowledgeable about her profession. One thing to know: Tamara does not come across as outgoing or friendly- she is clinical, but she wants to listen and do her job- which she did well for me. I think this would not have been my chosen style for a lactation consultant, but as I had already seen 2, I didn’t mind that she wasn’t warm and fuzzy- I just wanted my problem fixed!
-KarenI’d also like to endorse Tamara Hawkins. She was very helpful to me both when I was in the hospital (Cornell) and at home. I was particularly impressed with her consistent follow-up phone calls. She is also accessible via e-mail for questions.
-AmyMy experience with Tam’ara Hawkins while at Cornell Weill was not as positive. Though knowledgeable, I found her to be cold and unengaged in a one-to-one interaction. And she seemed impatient in the group breastfeeding class she insists you attend before meeting with you privately, even if you have already successfully breastfed an older child.
-Diana
Katherine Lilleskov
718-833-1121
klilleskov@gmail.com
Katherine is a great lactation consultant that lives in the neighborhood (Park Slope). She’s an RN and was a wonderful help after my son was born. She is available to come to your home shortly after calling her and will follow up as needed in person or over the phone for further questions/problems.
-JenniferWe also used Kathy Lilleskov and she was wonderful. She was available on short notice and came back a couple of times over the first 5 months for various feeding issues and check ins. She’s also a registered nurse and a mother of 2. I highly recommend her.
-JoannaWe highly recommend Kathy Lilleskov. She responded very quickly to our initial email, which was fortuitous because she quickly found out that our 12-day old baby had lost half a pound since leaving the hospital (she travels with a baby scale). We were devastated, but she quickly provided both reassurance and help to ensure we expressed as much milk as possible (what breast pump to rent and where to rent it, as well as suggestions on how to boost production). She also give us guidelines on how to supplement with formula–something that was clearly needed for at least the short term. Finally, she followed up that night by email to see how we were doing. We cannot imagine a better combination of knowledge and empathy, and are extraordinarily grateful.
-Kristin and DanielKathy is an incredible person all-around. She is warm, loving, humorous and interested in you and your baby as a whole. I contacted Kathy about my issue of milk overproduction. As this was my second baby and second experience with the same issue, I had a sense of what I should do. However, as I found out later, she had a whole new set of solutions to try that I had not been aware of. She is constantly researching, reading and conversing about breastfeeding, and thus, is a very knowledgeable LC. When she came to our apartment, she was open, engaged and curious. She stayed until my baby woke up so that she could see her nurse and then stayed to see how I got her back to sleep. She approached our issue holistically: examining our daily routine, nursing positioning, burping, sleep positioning, and general health. She was thorough and professional. A few weeks later, I had to go on a medication. Concerned about its effect on my baby, I called Kathy and asked her opinion- mentioning she could call me at any time and all night. Sure enough, at midnight, after a long day, she returned my call, armed with the information I needed and some sympathetic words and concern. As I had heard raves about her, I was curious to see if it was all true, and I am happy to report, it most definitely is!
-Karen
Realbirth CLOSED
212.367.9006
Two breastfeeding support groups per week, Monday and Thursday 10am-12pm, no pre-reg necessary. Supervised by Realbirth consultants. They also have monthly nursing older babies group and nursing twins support.
The class is only $15 versus $150 for a private consultation. Heather and Kim were fabulous. It was good for me to listen to all the other women/moms and hear what they had to say.
-KimIt is a $20 drop in fee – Susan Berger is the lactation consultant there – she is Super Duper Amazing and The Best! Seriously – I had 6 lactation consultants – she was the only one who could figure out the problems! There are classes at Realbirth on tuesdays and Fridays – call to see if she will be there – she is SO worth it.
-Alexandra
Freda Rosenfeld
718-469-5990
Freda is fully committed to breastfeeding. She put in a lot of time with me. She never gave up hope that I could breastfeed and had complete faith that I could do it. When I had lots of people questioning if I should continue trying to breastfeed, she kept me going.
-JustineI thought Freda was helpful with explaining pumping and nursing in general. She was very comfortable to be with also. She was professional: she was in her office every morning at a designated time to do follow-up phone calls. In the end though, I found her prescribed routine for my nursing problem to be exhausting and nearly impossible to keep up with. I got very discouraged. In the end, her suggestions didn’t help my problem and I had to look for another LC. She did give me a fantastic solution to cracked nipples that was a miracle-worker! (email me if you are interested…)
-KarenI loved Freda Rosenfeld. I found her to be warm, encouraging and understanding about what is and isn’t possible. Yes, she does prescribe exercises to do with the baby that can seem exhausting for the exhausted new mom, but if you can’t do them, don’t do them! (We did the exercises about half the time and they still helped a lot.) Freda will continue to encourage and help you — never scold. One office visit buys you an unlimited number of follow up phone calls.
-Diana
I went to Fredda Rosenfeld, who was amazing and gave me the confidence and tools to push through the painful part. A bit alarmist, but totally worth it in the end.
-Deirdre
Svetlana Tenenbaum
718-648-0042
I put in a desperate call about my 3 day old baby to Svetlana and she came the next morning (despite being jam-packed with her schedule). She was positive, enthusiastic, adoring and extremely reassuring. I called her a few months later when I had a new problem, and found her just as responsive and lovely. She loves babies and so it is so much fun to be with her and have her in the apartment adoring your baby. She helped me understand why my son was so gassy (I was making too much milk and he was only getting the front, high sugar, “skim-free milk”). She also reassured me that he was getting enough to eat by weighing Birch pre-nursing and post-nursing (proving that he had consumed 2 ounces of milk- fascinating.) Svetlana also takes insurance- my Oxford HMO allowed me to see her for $25. Great deal.
-Karen
La Leche League- Boro Park
Rivky 718-851-9729
La Leche League- Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights
Marjorie 718-921-1558, Karen 718-921-0817
La Leche League- Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill and Cobble Hill
Lucy 718-643-9219
Lucy runs the FG/CH meetings from her home on the second Wednesday of the month at 10 am. She runs the CH meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of the month in the evenings. Email her to confirm locations and times.
La Leche League- Kensington
Ann 718-853-5782 (English/Spanish)
La Leche League- Madison/Marine Prk
Jennifer 718-339-3806
La Leche League- Park Slope
Anne 718-965-4428, Audry 718-768-8248, Judy F. 718-789-9451, Deidre 718-788-1998