Lois G Heischober
February 2022
Lois G
Heischober
,
MSN, RNC-MMN, IBCLC, CDE
Redlands Perinatal Clinic
Redlands Community Hospital
Redlands
,
CA
United States
Without the support, encouragement, and knowledgeable guidance from Lois, I would absolutely not have continued to breastfeed.
I am a registered nurse at RCH (labor and delivery) and a Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner student. I recently had my first baby and am currently on maternity leave. I am emailing because I really wanted to take a brief moment and express my profound appreciation and gratitude for the outpatient perinatal clinic, especially for Lois. I teach patients about lactation and breastfeeding every day at work. I help new moms get their babies latched, I teach about how beneficial breastmilk is to preventing the development of allergies, diabetes, etc. and I encourage them to continue breastfeeding at home.
However, nothing prepared me for how incredibly difficult breastfeeding would be for my baby and me. On my second day postpartum, Lois called my hospital room and told my husband about the resources available at the perinatal clinic. We left the hospital with her contact information, but I did not know much about the services the perinatal clinic offered, even though I was an RCH employee myself. I called Lois in tears several days later to ask for an appointment and I was able to get in right away.
At our first appointment, Lois confirmed our suspicions that our baby girl had a lip tie, gave us referrals for her lip tie release, and provided reassurance and advice on how to keep going. Over the next several weeks, my baby and I continued to struggle with poor latching, painful breastfeeding, and thrush. I made weekly appointments with Lois, and every week I would desperately hold onto my next visit when I could ask her questions, get advice, and have some reassurance that despite our struggles my baby was growing and gaining weight appropriately. I contemplated giving up and exclusively pumping or turning to formula many times. Without the support, encouragement, and knowledgeable guidance from Lois, I would absolutely not have continued to breastfeed.
It has now been seven weeks since my baby was born and I am finally able to breastfeed successfully and comfortably. I know breastfeeding is so important to a baby’s physical, mental, and emotional development and I am so grateful for the help and care I have received at Redlands Perinatal Clinic. It is an invaluable community resource, and it has made such an impact on my life and the health of my baby. Thank you for supporting the incredibly important work that Lois and the perinatal clinic do.
However, nothing prepared me for how incredibly difficult breastfeeding would be for my baby and me. On my second day postpartum, Lois called my hospital room and told my husband about the resources available at the perinatal clinic. We left the hospital with her contact information, but I did not know much about the services the perinatal clinic offered, even though I was an RCH employee myself. I called Lois in tears several days later to ask for an appointment and I was able to get in right away.
At our first appointment, Lois confirmed our suspicions that our baby girl had a lip tie, gave us referrals for her lip tie release, and provided reassurance and advice on how to keep going. Over the next several weeks, my baby and I continued to struggle with poor latching, painful breastfeeding, and thrush. I made weekly appointments with Lois, and every week I would desperately hold onto my next visit when I could ask her questions, get advice, and have some reassurance that despite our struggles my baby was growing and gaining weight appropriately. I contemplated giving up and exclusively pumping or turning to formula many times. Without the support, encouragement, and knowledgeable guidance from Lois, I would absolutely not have continued to breastfeed.
It has now been seven weeks since my baby was born and I am finally able to breastfeed successfully and comfortably. I know breastfeeding is so important to a baby’s physical, mental, and emotional development and I am so grateful for the help and care I have received at Redlands Perinatal Clinic. It is an invaluable community resource, and it has made such an impact on my life and the health of my baby. Thank you for supporting the incredibly important work that Lois and the perinatal clinic do.