Today we’d like to introduce you to Naya Weber.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m an outpatient International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), which means I support families with infant feeding, including breastfeeding, chestfeeding, pumping, and bottle feeding after they’ve been discharged from the hospital or birth center. My journey into lactation support began after the birth of my oldest son. He was born a few weeks early and while he did not need a NICU stay, he wasn’t feeding very well. He lost well over 10% of his birth weight pretty quickly and I spent every waking hour trying to feed him or pumping for him. I spent many of those hours poring over lactation books and websites. I ended up being the person my friends reached out to for support. Once they began to pass my information to their friends, I knew it was time to get an official certification.
I obtained a certificate to be a lactation educator and counselor in 2012 and loved it. I honed my counseling skills by helping an established IBCLC running her weekly breastfeeding group. It didn’t take long before I realized that this is what I wanted to do with my life! I also became active in local and state breastfeeding advocacy groups, which helped me make connections and learn that there is more to this field.
I became an IBCLC in 2017 but had been working towards sitting for the IBCLC board exam for five years. It took me a bit longer than most because I worked a full-time job in a completely unrelated field- data configuration for an engineering company to lactation! What a shift! All classes were done at night and on weekends when they wouldn’t get in the way of my day job. Before long, it was obvious that my 9-5 was getting in the way of my dreams. Once my family moved from the Dallas area to Austin in 2014, I was able to complete the last bit of my education – several hundred supervised clinical hours. Even that took some time because my younger son was just over a year old and I wanted to enjoy that time with him.
As I was completing my clinical hours, my mentors asked me to join their lactation practice upon passing the exam. I’ve been with them for nearly five years as an IBCLC. I love knowing that I play a role in shaping the new parents’ journey. The early postpartum period is a tumultuous time and knowing that I am a resource for them is invaluable. I also feel like I’m fighting social norms about lactation and what people (especially women) are capable of with every drop of milk.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely not a smooth road – I feel like my journey has been anything but linear! The biggest struggle early on was finding time to complete educational requirements while having a young child and working in an unrelated field for my 9-5. I stayed up really late most nights after my son and husband fell asleep and spent weekends at coffee shops in the area to complete assignments. As I worked towards my clinical hours, I ran into an issue most parents face: finding reliable childcare. Early on, we got kicked out of a nanny share because my youngest son supposedly cried too much! Thankfully, we found an amazing nanny who helped out for most weekdays to watch the baby while I studied and did clinical hours. Finding preceptors was also a challenge for me. Some of the established lactation consultants in the area weren’t able to take on a student, but many just left me on read and never told me yes or no. That was the most frustrating part of it. I could deal with a “no,” but not getting an answer was a pain! The preceptors I did end up with were a great fit: ambitious, patient-oriented, and kind. It was definitely one of those situations that worked out in the best way possible!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As an IBCLC, I work to meet families where they are in their lactation journeys. A typical consultation looks at the health history of the parent and baby, birth experience, and discussing the issues they’re experiencing. I also perform weighed feeds, do a basic evaluation of the infant’s body structure and mouth, and develop a care plan for the family to help keep baby fed and parents to reach their goals.
I collaborate with other medical professionals to make sure that everyone is aware of the baby’s care plan. I refer families to other healthcare professionals when issues go beyond my scope of practice. It’s not all just clinical – there is a lot of holding space for clients when things don’t go the way they envisioned. Sometimes emotions from a difficult pregnancy or birth experience can carry over into postpartum life – there’s a lot of “emotional check-ins” with parents as we navigate helping this tiny human grow together.
One of my favorite aspects of this job is a weekly lactation group that I started and continue to lead. It’s held online weekly and is open to the community – it’s a great place to get support from other nursing or pumping mamas. Once a mom and baby have “graduated” from seeing a lactation consultant regularly, it can be hard to find consistent, evidence-based support. The group is open to the community, to moms with non-mobile infants under 12 months. In the group, we discuss lactation highs and lows and have a weekly topic, such as the transition back to work, traveling with the baby, starting solid foods, and sleep. As moms find their footing with motherhood, they don’t need the support that comes from the group, but some attendees start to get together with each other outside of the group! It’s been a beautiful way for some to build a community of like-minded friends whose children are around the same age. I am especially proud of the friendships that are formed from the group.
While I love working with all of my families, I especially enjoy supporting working parents and those with late preterm babies because of my own personal experiences. I have taken additional training to support trauma survivors, LGBTQ+ parents, and those experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. My goal is to empower families experiencing lactation challenges with knowledge and support and without judgement. In 2019, I was honored to be nominated for and win the Best Lactation Consultant award at the Austin Birth Awards. In 2021, Breastfeeding Success was a finalist for the Austin Birth Awards. My colleague and I were specifically recognized by nominators for the care we provide our clients. Earlier this year, I was a part of a panel presenting at UT Austin 2021 Perinatal Mental Health and Wellness Conference on lactation and mental health. I also volunteer time to speak at a number of groups for expectant and new parents on preparing to make milk, returning to work, and a variety of other topics.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Covid-19 has really forced those in my field to pivot our support from in-person to virtual. I leaned back to my lactation educator and counselor roots for virtual visits. It takes a lot of describing to help a person latch for the first time when you can’t be there to show them in person! I also learned the importance of having a strict Covid-19 screenings and precautions to protect myself, my family, and the families I work with. This is a public health crisis!
Contact Info:
- Website: itsmorethanmilk.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/itsmorethanmilk
- Facebook: facebook.com/itsmorethanmilk
Image Credits
Yellow Sweater headshot: Jessica Rockowitz Photography + Film B&W speaking photo: Shanna Leigh Images
