Telehealth for lactation?
Many clients reach out and as me about telehealth for lactation. Can it actually work? What about weighing the baby? Will I be able to help them with latch and positioning?
I will admit there are limitations to virtual lactation care. Weights cannot be done. But instead of weighing baby we focus on learning how to tell when baby is really drinking vs playing at the breast. We review how to pay attention to how your breasts feel before and after feed, how many diapers baby is making, how baby acts. Numbers can be helpful, but when we see the numbers we tend to not see anything else. It’s easy to look at a number from a weighted feed and not notice how sleep baby is at the breast, or not consider that this is one tiny piece of the picture. A weighted feed is only 1 feed of 8-12 during the day, 1/56 to 1/96 of a week! We need to focus on baby not numbers.
Latching and positioning- how will I help with that?? Yes it’s easy in person I can just put the baby on you and latch baby. However really as an IBCLC “latching baby” is maybe 5% of my job! Being an IBCLC is about assessing and treating a dyad- mom and baby together. But even with latch and position, I can help virtually. Instead of doing it for you in person, I describe what to do and you (and your support person if possible) will adjust and do the latch yourself. If I latch baby during a visit that helps for 1 feed. But what about the other 95 feeds of the week?? YOU need to know how to latch baby. So I will teach you and then all 96 feeds this week can be great.
Will it be weird doing a virtual visit? What about a zoom crasher? Nope, it’s like I’m just there in your living room, but no travel time. As for party crashers, I use a HIPAA compliant platform, Google Meet, so you don’t need to worry about anyone popping into our visit!
So WHY do a virtual lactation visit?? TONS of reasons. Here are a few of my favorites:
-no travel time/cost for either client or IBCLC
-easier to fit in 1 hr appt vs appt with travel time being 2 hrs or more
-can be worked around nap time or school for older child/ren
-can be seen ASAP (sometimes as soon as 2 hrs, almost always within 48 hrs)
-can see the best expert for your needs, not limited to who is in your area
-no weather/traffic issues or delays
-no exposure risk for Covid, but also for colds, flus, etc
-less cost than home visits
Seeing clients virtually is SO much easier for me to fit in my schedule. On Christmas Eve as I was prepping for dinner a client emailed me that she was super engorged. I set dinner aside, hopped on a virtual visit with client and we did a lymphatic drainage massage together. In less than 90 mins from her first message I had helped client and was back to making dinner! Now if a client called and wanted a home visit on Christmas Eve while I was already making dinner, that would be MUCH harder to fit in!
To me, the MOST important reason to see someone virtually is to see the BEST person to help YOU!! Not all providers are the same, not everyone has the same training, experience and education. Some IBCLC’s are experts at multiples or inducing lactation. Me? I am an expert with tongue tie, gut health and prenatal visits. So if you are looking for help with twins, I would help you find the best person to help you, it’s just not me. However if you have a tongue tied baby, then I can help you. It’s what I do everyday, it’s what I learn, read and practice each and everyday.
I have a 100% telehealth lactation practice by design so that I can help as many families as possible, families without the right expert in their area. If you have questions about a virtual visit, or anything lactation released, I’m here to help. Reach out anytime. :)