Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Alexander.
Hi Allison, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I had a horrible time breastfeeding with no support or education. Then as a pediatric nurse, I saw so many parents struggle and I didn’t have the tools to help them. I started studying different techniques and methods to help improve lactation challenges I was seeing, and eventually decided I wanted to shift to doing lactation support exclusively. I took and passed my board exam that allowed me to practice lactation internationally. However, there were still areas where I felt I lacked the skills needed to help families. Inspired by my own daughter’s struggles with feeding difficulties and low muscle tone, I took a deeper dive into oral function and rehabilitation. I expanded my skillset to be able to help families who had more complicated problems than the basic lactation challenges many experiences. I partnered with my friend Kaitlyn to open Skilled Lactation Solutions and run our own private lactation practice. We opened in January of 2021, expecting slow growth due to being in the middle of the pandemic. We had no idea that our dream would explode into a reality so quickly. We grew quickly from a couple appointments a month to our days being filled with helping families. We see families in their homes locally in Metro Detroit, but we also have the privilege of supporting families all around the world using telehealth.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There are multiple pathways to becoming a Lactation Consultant. As a healthcare professional, the pathway accessible to me is the easiest. It’s also the least robust and doesn’t require mentorship under another Lactation Consultant. That required more additional training and mentorship that I had to seek out on my own. Finding like-minded people to run a business with was a challenge as well. We were also not prepared for the amount of need we encountered. We try really hard to be accessible and offer a sliding scale rate for families who need it, but the families with the most financial need often have the worst insurance coverage to get the help they need. Working during the pandemic was extremely challenging with the fear, confusion, and level of emotional trauma families were experiencing. The driving is also challenging and we would love to open a clinic space to be able to see more families in a day.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
One of the things that sets us apart is that we listen to families. Even though it sounds like such a simple concept, we get families who are looking for a second, or sometimes third, or fourth opinion. They’ve experienced gaslighting and had their concerns dismissed. We take the time to really hear what they’re concerned about and empower them as experts on their baby’s health and wellness. As a result, the experience families have with us is different than what they’ve experienced before and they’re able to address their concerns and make progress toward their goals. It’s the number one thing we hear from families and what we’re most proud of. Combine that with our specialized skillset for rehabilitation, and it’s what has allowed our business to thrive and grow so quickly.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
For families, we have a free infant support group every Monday at Berkley Coffee from 9:30-10:30 am, and a free Facebook support group as well. If a family needs personal, 1:1 support we offer consults from pregnancy through weaning, specializing in oral rehabilitation for babies with tongue ties, reflux, colic, bottle refusal, or sucking problems. We love meeting with other professionals and collaborating to meet the needs of families and learning from each other.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.skilledlactationsolutions.com
- Instagram: @skilledlactationsolutions
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skilledlactationsolutions
Image Credits
Melyssa Shandler
