Frequently Asked Questions

 

  • Click here for a list of towns that I will travel to for in-home consultations. In general, I will travel to homes on the North Shore, North of Boston, and the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts. If you are just outside of my travel radius, I may be able to see you for a travel fee. I also see families virtually all over the world!

  • My office is in Beverly at Beyond Birthing, 131 Dodge Street. It is only about 1 minute off of Route 128, and there is ample parking and stroller access.

  • I am in-network with Aetna and United, and I am an out-of-network provider for all other insurance companies. Most MA insurance companies (BCBS of MA, Tufts, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Pilgrim, among others) will typically reimburse families without any problems, but this is not always the case. As a complimentary service for my clients, I will file your out of network claim to your insurance payer on your behalf if you have one of these 4 listed MA-based insurance companies. I will provide a superbill for all other companies so you can submit for reimbursement; I cannot guarantee reimbursement. Navigate to “Insurance Info” in the main menu for more information.

  • If you don't see any appointments this week in my online booking system for an In-Home Consult, Office Consults may be available sooner. When you book, you will also have the option of joining my waitlist, and I will contact you if I can fit you in sooner. If your baby is under 1 month old and having trouble gaining weight, and you don’t see any appointments available within the next week (In-Home or Office), please email me. I may be able to fit you in or refer you to someone who can see you sooner. 

  • Yes, as long as they have the symbol of one of the major credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, etc.). You may want to contact your HSA/FSA company directly to ensure that they cover lactation care, but most do.

  • At an in-home consult, I will remove my shoes and wash my hands before anything else. If baby is happy or sleeping, I will spend about 30 minutes going through your intake form with you and gathering information. If baby is hungry, we will work on the feed first and the information later! I will perform an oral assessment for the baby to check for ties and any other features that may be impacting feeding. I will weigh the baby before and after the feed to see the volume they consumed. During the feeding, I may make suggestions or adjustments to enhance your comfort and baby’s milk transfer. After the feed, we will discuss your options for going forward and come up with a mutually-agreeable Care Plan. This Care Plan is a working document: I have LOTS of ideas, so if these ones don’t work for you or for you family, we will change them.

    Later that day, I will email you a written Care Plan with lots of information and resources, I will fax a report to your baby’s pediatrician, and I will share the login for our secure messaging portal, where you’ll have unlimited access to me following the consult.

    An Initial Virtual Consult looks very similar, except I will not weigh your baby or do an oral assessment. I may ask you to send me a video of the inside of baby’s mouth if I think it would be helpful.

  • I hope so! However, breastfeeding can be complex and some issues need time. I will arm you with a solid plan of action at the end of our visit, but this care plan will probably need adjusting. That’s why I include secure messaging follow-up for all visits. Ask a professional instead of Google!

  • Absolutely not. I love working with families who are formula feeding by choice or by necessity. I want to help you feed your baby and enjoy your postpartum period, no matter what that looks like.

  • NO! Absolutely not. One of the reasons I love home visits is that I get to see you where you are most comfortable, and I get to see where and how you actually feed your baby. I’ve had two babies and I know exactly what it’s like to be healing and exhausted. Please don’t waste your energy picking up for me!

  • Nope! I love cats and dogs, and all animals. However, because animals can sometimes be unpredictable around new babies, and because I know that some of my clients do have allergies, I respectfully ask that you keep your pets in a separate room for the consult.

  • If your baby is having weight gain issues or if you are unsure about your milk supply, you should book an In-Home or Office Consult instead of Virtual.

  • Sure! Email me here.