Calling first: how I schedule in-home lactation visits in NYC
Abstracts
Abstracts
A phone call comes before the home visit — that's how in-home lactation support gets scheduled in New York City right now. My In Home Lactation Consultant — Lactation Consultant NYC page asks families to call 917-538-1564 and talk through their needs first so we can plan a safe consultation, instead of booking blind and sorting out details at the door.
Some of that is practical. Because of Covid-19, there may be additional screening questions to answer before I can do a home visit, and precautions are in place to keep moms and newborn babies safe once I'm in the house. Handling that on the phone means nothing about safety is a surprise on the day of the visit.
The rest is clinical judgment. As an international board-certified lactation consultant doing in-home consultations, and accepting new patients daily, I'd rather hear what's actually happening with feeding before I arrive than assume one intake process fits every household. A short conversation up front usually tells me more about what a family needs than a booking form ever would.