About in touch pediatrics and lactation
My Journey to In Touch
I struggled with breastfeeding and early motherhood when I had my kids. With my first baby, I remember feeling overwhelmed and in a complete haze for at least the first 2 months. Breastfeeding hurt, and no one could figure out why. I felt completely inadequate as a mom, despite my years of experience as a pediatrician. I realized that when people say how hard it is to have a newborn, they really mean it, and no amount of personal experience with babies that is not 24/7 will truly demonstrate how it feels when you can’t hand the baby over to someone else at some point and go home.
These experiences led me to seek out additional training in lactation, and I eventually went on to be in the first cohort of Board-Certified Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine physicians via the North American Board of Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine. As I spent more time taking care of lactating people and their babies, I started to realize that I was stuck in a system where I could not practice medicine the way I wanted to. Good care takes time. It requires listening, connecting, staying IN TOUCH, and forming a relationship based on trust and joint decision-making. To do this, I need longer visits with my patients. I need to be free of the arbitrary rules, requirements, and reimbursements set by insurance companies.
At the same time, I was becoming more and more interested in “The 4th Trimester.” I realized that many women experienced similar feelings of overwhelm after having a baby and that this was not only because of how hard parenting inherently is, but also because of the lack of emphasis our society has put on providing comprehensive support for new moms and parents. Breastfeeding people require breastfeeding support at many levels, including physician care when necessary. New parents need to have better prenatal education on the postpartum experience and supports need to be easily accessible when the time comes. In fact, I now understand that building your village BEFORE you really need it is essential.
I founded In Touch Pediatrics and Lactation as my gift to parents during the challenging postpartum transition. I offer an option for in-home newborn care as well as comprehensive Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine support. I want to do my part to improve the abysmal infant and maternal mortality rates in the US, and to prevent and provide early diagnosis and management of Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders. I want to help take some of the burden and overwhelm off of new parents by coming to them and being easy to access when I’m needed.
The name for my practice during the height of the Covid pandemic. I was wearing gloves during my visits with patients, something I hadn’t done regularly except for specific safety situations. One day as I was examining a patient, I realized that I missed touching patients. I mean, really touching. The gloves felt like a barrier between us. Doctoring is about touch. We touch the body to diagnose. But touch also is part of the connection between a physician and her patients. Being in touch with my patients – really listening, understanding, and getting to know them – is part of what is so rewarding to me about medicine. And as if the name “In Touch” weren’t perfect enough, it also describes the access to me that patients enjoy when they are in my care.