You need to get the help of
an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) if:
- You are pregnant and you want to avoid breastfeeding problems after you give birth.
- You are scheduled for a cesarean delivery and you were told by your doctor that it would be hard for you to breastfeed right after childbirth.
- You just gave birth and you experience pain or discomfort while breastfeeding. Breastfeeding need not be painful. Pain may be a result of poor attachment or other problems like tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) that may lead to more breastfeeding problems.
- The reliable indicators show that your baby is not getting enough (6-8 wet diapers with pale yellow or clear urine and/or ideal weight gain).
- Your doctor has advised you to use formula (either because you or your baby is sick, baby is not gaining weight, etc.)
- You will be away from your child (e.g. you are going back to work, travelling out-of-town or abroad, you need to be hospitalized and the doctor advised you not to bring the baby to the hospital or the baby was hospitalized and the doctor told you to stop breastfeeding).
- You want to sustain your breastmilk production and continue to breastfeed when you are reunited with your child.
- You wan to go back to breastfeeding.
