Support Groups
I lead 3 to 4 large support meetings per month on the Upper West Side and Northern Manhattan. No advanced registration is required for these groups and each session lasts for 1½ hours. Please view the schedule to see upcoming support groups.
At drop-in meetings, we discuss whatever questions mothers have while the mothers sit and nurse their babies. I provide hands-on assistance with positioning and latch-on and I always bring my digital baby scale so that mothers can weigh their babies.
Pregnant women are welcome at these meetings and will get to see good latch-on technique and recognize effective sucking and swallowing at the breast.
Smaller Support Group and Latch On Clinic
This smaller group is designed for mothers who do not need a private one-on-one consultation, but need more guidance and problem-solving than is possible in a larger support meeting. These meetings are held at the Upper Breast Side (135 West 70th St) before the store opens for business—usually on Thursdays from 9:30am to 11:00am (90 minutes).
Please note that registration is required (call 212 567-1112).
Mothers should consider attending if they are still working on minor problems (e.g., uncomfortable nursing or long feedings with adequate weight gain), or if they need follow-up after an initial, private consultation.
If you are having more serious breastfeeding problems, your needs may be better met in a private consultation where I can give you my undivided attention.
Why Support Groups?
The first weeks and months after a baby is born are a wonderful, difficult time in a woman's life, and it's more enjoyable when you sit around and talk about it with other new mothers.
It's powerful to have the mother of a 2 week old baby in the same room with the mother of a 2 month old baby. Those babies are only 6 weeks apart and yet they are totally different creatures. The mothers are different too. The 2 month old is smiling at her mother, latches on easily and can be finished feeding in 10 minutes. The message at these meetings is consistently: "You are not alone in your concerns. Things will get better."
I always encourage mothers to exchange telephone numbers or email addresses so they can meet on other days as well. Some of these spin-off groups keep on meeting until the children go off to school!