You’ve learned to trust your OB or midwife throughout your pregnancy. Once your baby is here, you can have a select number of care providers that will guide you through the early months of your baby’s life. These include your lactation consultant and your pediatrician. Beginning at your first appointment, you can (hopefully) develop trust with these providers.
Your lactation consultant is ideally someone you’ve met during your pregnancy. She should be kind and knowledgeable. She should ask a lot of questions to determine your unique needs postpartum. Hopefully, she provides a hands-on assessment, measures your nipples for pumping, and also suggests the best nursing positions for you based upon your unique breast anatomy.
Once your baby is born, your lactation consultant should be a warm, familiar face that welcomes you to the new world of breastfeeding your newborn. She shouldn’t seem critical of the choices you have made prior to your appointment. For instance, if you supplemented with formula in the early days of your baby’s life, you shouldn’t feel like she is disappointed in or judgemental of this choice.
She should exude confidence and compassion as she creates a plan with you to follow. She should offer follow up appointments as needed to navigate the different phases and stages of breastfeeding. Ideally, she provides you with a written summary of your appointment to refer to until your follow up appointment.
Your pediatrician should be a knowledgeable and calm presence. Most often, you meet your pediatrician for the first time after your baby is born. At the first appointment, your pediatrician should ask a lot of questions about how you have been feeding your baby since birth and how many poop and pee diapers your baby is having. Your pediatrician shouldn’t seem rushed or distracted, but fully present in your appointment. They should ask you what questions you may have and offer plenty of time to answer every question.
It is through these critical early experiences that you slowly develop trust in your care providers.
Remember, you are a health care consumer and you have the right to seek care elsewhere if you are struggling to trust your care provider.
