"Transitioning to breast feeding from bottle with help from the telehealth lactation consultants"

I’m a first time mum to a gorgeous little boy.

I had my son at 37 weeks and because he was a small baby (2.4kg) I was unable to breastfeed due to him not having the strength to feed. Instead I was expressing and bottle feeding him. After leaving the hospital I was told I could transition to breastfeeding when he had exceeded his birth weight. Once at home my son put on a great amount of weight and I was able to try breastfeeding, but I didn’t have a clue how to do it.

My child health nurse told me of this awesome Telehealth Lactation Consultant service where I could be referred to get some help. It was great to have a Telehealth option as I live regionally and that sort of support is not offered locally.  After being referred to the service they reached out super quickly and arranged a Telehealth appointment with me. Everyone I dealt with was super professional and helpful.

My appointment was great and my consultant was fantastic. I was shown different techniques to get my son to latch and I was shown the best position to be as well. Whilst on the call I was able to get my son latched and feeding on both boobs with the help of my consultant. We arranged to have a follow up appointment in a weeks time to see how I was going.

That week went fantastic and I was able to completely transition from bottle feeding to breast feeding straight away without any issues at all. The last bottle feed I had to do was the feed just before my first Telehealth appointment. Every feed since then has been on the boob. I had my follow up appointment where I was able to ask any questions and we made sure I was doing everything I was meant to be.

My consultant, Karina, was amazing and so lovely. She was so patient with all my questions and was such a great source of information. She was able to effectively show me what I needed to do and also give me the tools to successfully breastfeed. I wouldn’t have been able to make the transition without her help.

The Telehealth service was invaluable to me and I’m sure it is for lots of other mums in Western Australia. It’s super reassuring knowing that they are there if you need them. I do wish that the service could be used even after your Bub is 7 weeks old as there are so many changes to breastfeeding as your child grows and that support from the Telehealth service would be amazing.