For most parents, their inducing lactation plan consists of 3 Steps, each involving its own set of tools and techniques for success.  Four consultations allows us to meet once at the start of each Step, and then again once baby arrives.

Most clients find once they have a plan for inducing lactation customized to fit their health and fertility history, circumstances and preferences they continue to benefit from support along the way.  Questions come up.  Adjustments to the protocol are needed.

If you prefer to do the research on your own, much of the information is available.  Of course, you will have to parse out the good information from the not-so-good.  Or you could take advantage of the last 15 years of research and experience I have to save you the time and potential frustration.

There is always the chance that you would not bring in milk.  In my experience, however, this is extremely unlikely for any parent under age 50 who follows through on the plan we have customized for their health profile, circumstances, and preferences.

All of the packages provide the same exact services. 

If your insurance provider is Aetna, then that is the package for you.

If you have another insurance provider, I offer regular pricing plus two levels of discounted pricing.  Please choose regular pricing if you are able, or choose a discounted rate if not.  I want my services to be as accessible as I can. 

With regular pricing, you can request a lactation receipt with coding you can use to submit to your provider following each consultation. 

In my experience, it is extremely difficult to get insurance providers to reimburse even with pre-approval.  This is one reason I decided to ease the financial burden by offering a package price that is deeply discounted off the cost of individual consultations.

Inducing lactation is likely to require an investment in your time, and working with in an experienced lactation consultant is likely to help you to make more milk more quickly. 

For example, one of my clients informed me that parents posting on social media are usually spending 10-12 weeks pumping throughout the day and night in order to bring in a significant amount of milk.  My clients typically pump for 6 weeks to bring in a significant amount of milk.  If each pumping session is about 25 minutes * 8 per day = 200 minutes per day for an additional 28-42 days = 93-140 extra hours just on pumping alone. 

Inducing lactation is likely to require a financial investment, and investing in an experienced lactation consultant is likely to not only result in more milk production (a money-saver right there) but less money spent on items that are not helpful.  

For example, when parents don't know what herbs might be helpful they often take more than they need.  I usually suggest 3 bottles at most.  Some parents are taking double that.  If each bottle costs about $15 (Nature's Way Fenugreek) - $60 (Legendairy), then that is a savings of $45-$180 per month. 

A customized plan for inducing lactation takes into account the individual health history of each client.  That means that recommendations are made to support health and well-being, and no herbs or off-label medications are suggested that may pose a health risk.

You know yourself best.  If inducing lactation will be a challenge to your well-being, then it might not be right for you.  This does NOT mean you cannot breastfeed.  You certainly can breastfeed without making any milk.  An IBCLC can help with this as well!

The hormones for making milk are located in the pituitary gland at the base of the brain.  Ovaries and a uterus are not needed.  Many parents with a hysterectomy or oopherectomy have successfully induced lactation.

When infertility is caused by hormonal or unknown issues, those same issues can impact ability to make milk.  Part of your customized protocol for inducing lactation can include balancing hormones and increasing insulin sensitivity.  It may be more difficult for you to make milk even so. 

You may be concerned that inducing lactation will be just another disappointment, that you will find your body is not able to function like you hoped yet again.  While it is unlikely you will bring in a full milk supply, it is very likely with good support that you will be able to make a significant amount of milk.  Many parents with infertility find this to be very healing.

Having in-person support is always ideal.  A local lactation consultant can provide hands-on help, may have supplies, and can direct you to other local resources.  

On the other hand, most lactation professionals will see a few clients per year who are inducing lactation.  Inducing lactation is the heart of my lactation practice.  I see new inducing lactation clients every week rather than a few per year.  I do my best to learn from each one of them!  My learning doesn't end there --  I continue to thoroughly research induced lactation in literature and journals.

It is not too late to start inducing lactation.  When there is more time, there are more options.  However, there are ways we can jump start the lactation process when there isn't much or any time.  And there are ways to support breastfeeding before there is any or much milk.

If you are expecting a baby through surrogacy or your partner will be birthing, then you can wait until towards the end of the first trimester to begin inducing lactation. If you are adopting, you may wish to start once you are available for a match or after being matched.  There are pros and cons to both. 

If you are excited about inducing lactation, but not quite ready to jump in, learn more.  A good place to start is my book Breastfeeding Without Birthing.

If you are expecting a baby through adoption, you may not know when your baby will arrive until right before they do!  Some adoptive parents will start inducing lactation before they have an adoption match, and others will wait until they are matched.  There are pros and cons to both approaches and I can help you to decide which is right for you.

Using the Newman-Goldfarb protocols has worked well for many parents.  If it is a fit for you and you feel well-supported with breastfeeding overall, you may choose to go it on your own or with a local lactation consultant with less experience in developing individual protocols for her clients.

There are two categories of medications used to support inducing lactation:  Hormonal medications (estrogen and/or progesterone) and domperidone. Domperidone is not a hormonal medication; it works by releasing the body's own natural prolactin.

Progesterone, prolactin, and (to a much lesser degree) estrogen, cause the glandular tissue in the breasts to grow and develop during pregnancy so that they can produce enough milk to feed a baby.  Without pregnancy, taking medications to simulate the hormonal changes in pregnancy increases the milk-making capacity of the breasts.

Prolactin is also the primary hormone for making milk after baby arrives.  Taking domperidone helps the breasts make the most milk within their capacity.

For most parents, it is very difficult to make more than drops of milk without domperidone. 

As an IBCLC, I am not able to write scripts for any pharmaceutical medications which may be part of your inducing lactation/relactation plan. Together, we will decide what medications to include in your lactation plan.  Then, you can request any medications requiring a prescription from your PCP, OB, midwife, endocrinologist -- any prescribing provider you are already a patient with who is likely to be supportive.  Most of the time, the prescribing provider does not have much or any knowledge about inducing lactation or relactation, but are willing to write a script based on my suggestion.  I am always happy to talk with your provider to explain the reasons why I suggested a certain medication and/or provide them with the research supporting my suggestions. 

In the very rare circumstance when this approach is not successful, I do have some workarounds other clients have successfully employed in the past.