Lactation and Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding provides an infant with essential calories, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients for optimal growth, health, and development. Breast milk contains the right balance of nutrients to help your infant grow into a strong and healthy toddler.
Some of the nutrients in breast milk also help protect your infant against some common childhood illnesses and infections. Breastfeeding is beneficial to both you and your infant and also offers an important opportunity for bonding.
Benefits of Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is natural, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. You and your baby may need practice – and almost all moms need a little help, especially in the beginning. But it does get easier with time.
Learn MoreLocal Resources for Breastfeeding Support
Outpatient Lactation Clinic
Our Outpatient Lactation service offers one-on-one consultations between new mothers and Certified Lactation Consultant or Lactation Educator for specialized support and guidance. With a referral from a Pediatrician, Obstetrician, or Primary Care Physician, mothers may schedule 30-to-90 minute appointments for private consultations. Appointments may continue as necessary. Call 805-737-3395 to arrange a visit.
Breastfeeding Mothers Support Group
The Breastfeeding Support Group meets the second and fourth Friday of Each Month 10 am - 11 am and provides support and guidance to breastfeeding mothers in the Lompoc Valley. The Support Group is facilitated by our lactation professionals. Come share your ideas and concerns with our team and other mothers. An infant scale is available at every session.
Prenatal Lactation
When it comes to your baby, you can never be prepared enough. Having the support of a lactation consultant before you start breastfeeding can make the experience a lot easier.
How Breastfeeding Works
Every time you breastfeed, your baby's suckling causes your body to release milk. As your milk is released, the hormone that makes milk increase and produces more.
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Getting to Know Your Breastfeeding Baby
Breastfed babies will wake up frequently to nurse, even during the night. This is good for your baby and good for increasing and maintaining your milk production.
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Hand Expression
Breastfeeding women have expressed (removed) milk by hand for generations. Hand expression may take a few sessions to learn. Once you know how to hand expressing gets easier.
Learn MoreBreastfeeding Articles from our Blog
Nutrition While Breastfeeding
Nursing a newborn is a labor of love, one that requires a mother’s body to produce a wholesome, fully nourishing, and protective substance called breast milk.
Starting Solids with Your Breastfed Baby
As the 6-month mark approaches, many moms have questions about how to balance starting solid foods while maintaining their breastfeeding relationship. It’s important to note that although your baby’s intake is going to start expanding to a variety...
All About Pumping
Pumping breast milk can be a great tool for mothers that need to be separated from their babies or wish to express their breast milk by an alternate method than nursing at the breast.
Making Milk -- A Mother’s Guide to Managing Milk Supply
As a lactation consultant, one of the most common worries I hear mothers express is a concern about their milk supply being too low or too high. When I was a new mother, I had these worries too. If you are experiencing concerns about milk...
Health Concerns of Using Cannabis While Breastfeeding
California law allows adults 21 and older to use, carry and grow cannabis, although federal law prohibits its use. As of Jan. 1, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act details where California residents can use cannabis, how...
Moms Facing Challenges in Breastfeeding Can Find Help
Did you know that one of the most common reasons given why new mothers discontinue breastfeeding during the first few weeks is due to sore nipples? Breastfeeding is not supposed to hurt but the fact is, most mothers will experience some degree of...
Breastfeeding Benefits for Mom and Baby
The American Academy of Pediatrics has made it a key policy to support and encourage exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant’s life. And to further emphasize the importance of breastfeeding, the academy suggests that mothers...
Untangling Breastfeeding Problems Caused by Tongue and Lip Ties
When many pregnant women picture their future babies, they imagine being able to breastfeed their infants to provide them nourishment and to keep them healthy and growing. Unfortunately, breastfeeding issues can arise for many reasons, such as food...
Importance of Skin-to-Skin Contact and Breastfeeding
During pregnancy, babies are as close to their mothers as they can possibly be, receiving all the necessary things to keep them protected, receiving warmth, food, and oxygen from their mother. Once they are born, they are abrupt without these...
Lasting Benefits of Breastfeeding
The first two years of life are the most critical time periods within a child’s life to ensure the infant is receiving all the essentials needed for proper growth, health, and development. Research has proven breast milk to be a superior source of...