Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a consultation take?

All initial and antenatal consultations are 2 hours. Follow-up consultations vary in length. I charge by 30-minute blocks. 

What areas do you travel to?

I will travel up to an hour from Ringwood for an in-home consultation. Travel fees are charged based on time travelled in both directions. Online consultations are available worldwide.

When are consultations available?

Consultations are available between 9am and 4pm on weekdays. I am sometimes available after hours, on weekends, and on public holidays, by special arrangement.  These consultations will attract an additional after-hours surcharge.  

How do I prepare for a consultation?

Preparation for all consultations

An intake form will be sent to you upon booking (and a Covid screening questionnaire for home visits). Please ensure these are completed and returned to me in plenty of time so that I can review your case notes before our consultation so as to make the best use of our time together.  

I will need some information to help me accurately assess your situation and best advise you.  Please keep a written record of the following information for each 24-hour period;

• number of breastfeeds 
• number of wet and soiled nappies
• number of any bottles, whether your own expressed breast milk (EBM), donor milk, or formula, and total amounts of each given
• number of any pumping sessions and total EBM yielded

Do I need to clean or tidy before an in-home consultation?

No – please don’t. New babies often bring a lot of chaos with them. I’ve had three babies of my own and know all too well how overwhelming life can get.  And if you need me and my services, then chances are that things are not easy for you right now. I wouldn’t want our appointment to add more stress to your life or put any more pressure on you.  

What if my baby wants to feed just before our appointment?

I may need to observe and assess an infant feed in our consultation in order to assist you. If your baby wants a feed soon before our consultation, please give them a little milk to tide them over until I get there.

A distressed and over-hungry baby will attach less easily and feed in a more disorganised manner than one who is fed at early cues, so it’s important not to make the baby wait until our appointment time before feeding them.  

Can my partner or support person join our consultation?

Yes!  Your partner or another support person is very welcome to join us. In fact, I would encourage it.  The more support you have to continue your infant feeding and/or parenting journey the better!

We go over a lot of information during a consultation so it’s often helpful to have another person who might help to remember details of what we’ve discussed after the appointment. 

Preparing for an in-home consultation

Please restrain any pets before my arrival and notify me of any parking or other issues I should be aware of at your home. Support or care for any older children in your family will help us best focus on optimising our time together. If this is difficult for you, then an activity or snack to keep them occupied during the consultation works well too. 

What adaptations have you made for COVID 19 and other infectious diseases?

I take the health and wellbeing of my clients and their families as seriously as my own. 

I am fully vaccinated and continue to stay up to date weith boosters

I offer online consultations over Zoom for those who would rather limit their and their babies exposure to others.  Online consultations are every bit as effective as in-person visits.  I am very experienced in conducting consultations online and my success rate of supporting families to achieve their infant feeding and parenting goals is just as high. 

Please make sure you complete the COVID screening questionnaire sent to you.  

What should I expect at an in-home consultation?

Initial Postnatal Consultation

I will come to visit you in your own home at our pre-arranged time.  After introducing myself to you and your baby (and any others present), we will complete some initial paperwork (the boring bits I’m required to do), and I will ask you about the specific issue(s) that prompted you to reach out for support, and about your hopes, dreams, and goals for breastfeeding or life with your baby.

Then we will make a thorough record of the health and breastfeeding history of both you and your baby. I will listen carefully to understand your infant feeding or parenting issues and your own unique situation.

Sometimes details that may seem to you to be unrelated may be having an impact on the situation you are experiencing. The information you provide will help to ensure that we don’t overlook any possible contributing factors.

Next, a visual and/or physical assessment of parent and baby, and observation of a feed (if applicable) will provide more information that together will allow us to work out the root cause(s) of any problems.  (Or, may in fact reassure you that you are doing well and on the right track.) 

While observing an infant feed I might make some suggestions for helping you to attach your baby more easily to the breast, improve your comfort or allow your baby to breastfeed more easily and efficiently.

Together we might explore and experiment with different feeding positions or other ideas to improve you and your baby’s breastfeeding experience. I work in a hands-off manner, so I will rarely touch a mother or baby during breastfeeding, except to guide a mother’s hands or help to reposition a baby if verbal suggestions are not enough.  I will respect the bodily integrity of you and your baby and ask for consent before touching either of you.  

How will I remember the plan we make together?

After our visit, I will provide you with a comprehensive written care plan including my assessments plus a suggested plan of action including evidence-based information and useful links to relevant online resources such as articles or videos for you to refer to.  

What ongoing support do you offer?

After our visit, I will provide a week of follow-up via SMS or email to support you while you carry out the plan we made together. Follow-up consultations or ongoing email support may be required in more complex or ongoing situations to allow you to achieve your infant feeding and/or parenting goals. Follow-up consultations include another week of text based support.  

What should I expect in an online consultation?

Online consultations are every bit as effective as in-person visits.  I am very experienced in conducting consultations online and my success rate of supporting families to achieve their infant feeding and parenting goals is just as high.

An online format follows the same format as an in-home visit and takes the same amount of time.  I will need your help to conduct the physical assessment of your breasts (if applicable) and your baby. 

It also helps greatly if someone else can be present with you to log in on a mobile device and act as ‘camera person’ during the breastfeeding observation and assessment and infant oral assessment.  You can log in on multiple devices (please mute all but one to prevent feedback noise). 

It also helps if you can set yourself up to feed in the same comfortable place you normally would, rather than at a bench, a desk, or your kitchen table (if that’s not where you would normally feed your baby).