Lactation
Consultations

Individualized support for your feeding journey

Lactation Consultations provided by
Southwest Minnesota Lactation & Beyond

Jenna Erickson, CNM, IBCLC and Jess Dressen, LPN, IBCLC work together to provide personalized lactation support for you and your baby.

Our goal is to help you meet your infant feeding goals, no matter what they are. We can provide education and support for breastfeeding, chestfeeding, and bottle feeding families.

Things we can help with:

Prenatal classes and education
Breast and nipple pain
Difficulty latching
Slow weight gain
Low milk supply
Oversupply or fast flow
Engorgement, mastitis, plugged ducts
Tongue, lip, and buccal tie assessment and referral
Post tie-release rehabilitation
Pumping and flange fitting
Bottle feeding and bottle refusal
Inducing lactation and relactation
Chestfeeding and supplemental nursing systems
Weaning

How does a lactation consultation work?

Lactation consultations are a comprehensive evaluation of your situation with a customized care plan for you and baby going forward.

We offer appointments in our office here at The Nurturey in Marshall, in your home (see below for travel area), or virtually via secure video chat to you anywhere.

Home and office visits generally take about 1.5 - 2 hours for an initial visit, 1 hour for follow-up visits, and 1 - 1.5 hours for virtual visits. During this time we take a full history, assess a feeding and/or pumping session, and work with you to develop a plan for feeding your baby. We always strive to find what's doable for you and will support you to meet YOUR goals.

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Services

Initial Lactation Consultation
- For new clients needing help with any lactation related concerns, a comprehensive evaluation of you and baby with detailed care plan
  - In Home - $200
  - In Office - $150

Follow up Consultation
- For existing clients only. Many times follow-up visits are helpful for ongoing evaluation and support. Things can change quickly in the early days of breastfeeding!
  - In Home - $150
  - In Office - $100

Pumping and Flange Fitting Consultation
- A visit for those who are exclusively pumping or want to discuss only pumping at the visit. This includes fitting you for flanges by trying on a variety of sizes to determine which is the best for you (this is by far the most accurate way to flange fit in our experience). We will also discuss your pumping routine, answer questions about your pump or others you're wondering about and discuss any milk supply issues related to pumping.
  - In Office - $75

Prenatal Lactation Consultation
- A visit to discuss your lactation related concerns before baby arrives. Ideal for those with a history of lactation challenges or other medical conditions that may impact lactation. This can also be a personalized breastfeeding education session.
  - In Office or Virtual - $150

Virtual Lactation Consultations (All types)
- The same type of visits offered as above, but in a virtual format via a secure telehealth platform. Virtual visits are typically shorter (around 1 hour) but can be just as helpful for a wide variety of issues!
  - Initial Visit - $100
  - Follow Up - $75

Weaning Consultation
- This is a visit dedicated to helping you prepare for weaning. The end of your breastfeeding journey can look alot of different ways and we're happy to help you navigate it!
  - In Office or Virtual - $50

There is a $25.00 additional charge for all visits involving multiple babies.

Coverage Area

We're happy to offer home visits to families within the area. We get to come to you and you don't have to haul your baby out of the house. It let's us make suggestions specific to your environment.

We offer home visits to those who live within a 30 mile radius of Marshall, MN. We are willing to travel beyond that if scheduling allows and additional mileage will be charged to you at the current IRS rate.

If you're not within this area or would just prefer an office visit, those are a great choice as well. Our office is very comfortable and home like.

Insurance and Payment

Our services are considered private pay with the opportunity for insurance coverage through Lactation Network. We also offer to help you submit your bill to your insurance company for reimbursement.

Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are supposed to cover lactation services, but it's complicated. The good news is, we have a couple options and we're here to help!

Coverage with Lactation Network

We partner with Lactation Network to offer coverage for lactation consultations by some insurance providers.

Current plans Lactation Network works with are: Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Anthem BCBS PPO, Cigna PPO and United PPO.

To find out if your insurance qualifies for coverage through Lactation Network, you can fill out the form linked below. If you qualify, Lactation Network will approve you for up to 3 consultations at no cost to you.

Shortly after submitting your information, we will both receive an email letting us know if you've been approved. Your visit needs to be approved by Lactation Network BEFORE the visit occurs for it to be covered - but since this typically happens pretty quickly, you can go ahead and schedule your appointment while you wait for approval. We can reschedule if there is any delay in approval.

To check if you have coverage, please fill out the form at: https://go.lactationnetwork.com/SouthwestMinnesotaLactationBeyond

Private pay with possible reimbursement

If you have any other insurance plan or another form of coverage (health sharing, etc.) we will ask for payment in full at the time of service via credit card, check, or cash and provide you with an appropriately coded superbill for you to submit to your company for reimbursement. We are not currently in-network with any insurance company.

Under the Affordable Care Act, lactation services are supposed to be covered by insurance, however we can't guarantee this will be the case for you. Some families prefer to call their insurance company ahead of time and try to get pre-approval.

Here is a helpful resource about your rights: https://nwlc.org/resources/breastfeeding-benefits-understanding-your-coverage-under-the-affordable-care-act/

Both lactation services and doula services may be eligible for HSA/FSA reimbursement, please check with your specific plan for details.

Any questions about this process? Email me at: jess@swmnlactation.com

We never want payment to prevent you from receiving help.

We offer discounts for clients in need. If you need help but can't afford our services or are concerned about insurance reimbursements please reach out to us to discuss options.

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