Julie Brill, IBCLC provides in-home and online consultations.
Initial consultations generally last about 1.5-2 hours and include reviewing the health history of parent and baby, answering questions, discussing feeding goals, and helping with and assessing a feed. Julie can help you improve position and latch so you and your baby are more comfortable, do an oral assessment on your baby, help with pumping and size pump flanges, and review ways to supplement babies including pace bottle feeding, supplemental feeding at the breast, and feeding with syringe, cup, or spoon.
Most of your time together will be Julie answering your questions, focusing on your priorities and concerns, and discussing your options. She will write an individualized, written care plan for you as well.
Julie takes a holistic approach to breastfeeding; her philosophy is that it’s important to find solutions to breastfeeding challenges since babies and parents thrive when nursing is going well. She knows that all babies want to breastfeed and that if they won’t breastfeed, or breastfeed well, it’s usually because they can’t.
Julie has the training and expertise to help you identify and remove obstacles so you can meet your breastfeeding goals. She has completed advanced course work in holistic lactation and working with babies with oral ties and has been working with perinatal families since 1992.
In-home consults within 10 miles of Bedford, MA are $425. Outside this travel radius, home visits are $475-525. Initial virtual consultations are $300. Your health insurance should reimburse you under the ACA, though some are better about this than others.
Did you have a disappointing breastfeeding experience with your last baby? Do you have health concerns or a history of breast surgery that my impact breastfeeding? Schedule a prenatal lactation consult with Julie in your second or third trimester. Prenatal consults are generally about 60 minutes and cost $200. Most health insurance will reimburse you for this cost.
If this will be your first breastfeedng experience, prepare with a prenatal breastfeeding class.
A private class with lactation consultant Julie Brill, IBCLC, CCCE is tailored to your needs and questions.
When families take a prenatal breastfeeding class during pregnancy they have a better understanding of how breastfeeding works, and what to expect when feeding and caring for their newborn.
Private childbirth, cesarean prep, and infant care classes are also available.
LGBTQ welcoming and size-friendly. Military discount for active military and their families.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel on your own!
Because breastfeeding is time sensitive, Julie will do her best to schedule new clients as quickly as possible. Families can often be seen within 24 hours.
Email Julie (at) WellPregnancy.com to schedule your consultation.
Families often schedule a consult with an IBCLC when they have questions about:
- Is my baby getting enough to eat? Can you help my baby to gain weight faster?
- Can I avoid/reduce supplementing with formula?
- How can I resolve my nipple soreness/breast pain?
- How can I heal my plugged duct/mastitis and prevent it from recurring?
- Am I producing enough milk?
- Do I have oversupply/overactive letdown?
- How can I improve my baby’s latch?
- How do I transition from using a nipple shield?
- Does my baby have a tongue and/or lip tie?
- Can you help with breastfeeding multiples?
- Can you help me to breastfeed more confidently and give me tips and tricks so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel?
- How can I prepare to go back to work? How will I manage pumping, milk storage, and protecting my breastfeeding relationship while baby gets bottles at daycare? How much milk will my baby need while we are apart?
- Is my baby’s feeding and sleep behavior normal for his or her age?
- How can I breastfeed after breast surgery?
- How can I breastfeed my adopted baby?
- Breastfeeding didn't go the way I hoped it would with my last baby, what can I do to help this experience be different?
“Breastfeeding to an infant is as important as a breath or a heartbeat. It is a vital sign. It is a physiological function that must be accessed. If an infant cannot breastfeed, we must ask ‘why?’ and ask why until we have identified the issues that can be rehabilitated.”
- Michele Fetzik, BSN, OMT, IBCLC
Julie provides in-home support for families who live within about a half hour drive of Bedford, Massachusetts.This includes the following towns: Acton, Andover, Ayer, Arlington, Bedford, Billerica, Boxborough, Burlington, Cambridge, Carlisle, Concord, Chelmsford, Groton, Hanscom AFB, Harvard, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Lowell, Lynnfield, Malden, Maynard, Medford, Melrose, Middleton, Newton, North Reading, Reading, Somerville, Stoneham, Stow, Sudbury, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Wayland, Waltham, Watertown, Wakefield, Wellesley, Westford, Weston, Wilmington, Winchester, and Woburn.
Email Julie (at) WellPregnancy.com.
Julie Brill, IBCLC, CHLC, CCCE, CLD has been working with families in the childbearing year since 1992 as a childbirth educator, labor doula, breastfeeding peer counselor, and more recently as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Her holistic focus both personally and professionally lead her to become a Certified Holistic Lactation Consultant (CHLC). She is the author of Round the Circle: Doulas Share Their Experiences and the mother of two young adults who she breastfed into toddlerhood.
Watch Julie discuss tongue and lip ties, their impact on breastfeeding, and the collaborative model of care with Dr. Linda Slak, Dr. Marcy Gabrilowitz, and Dr. Sandy Chapnick.
Watch Julie discuss preparing for breastfeeding with Angela Bell, LAc.
"Before contacting Julie, I was having a lot of trouble breastfeeding my newborn. My husband found her information through zip milk. When he left for work that day breastfeeding was painful for me and no one (mommy and baby) were happy. When he walked back in that night, he said he couldn’t believe the change. Everyone was happy and he said I was smiling while breastfeeding. Julie spent 2 hours with me looking at how I fed my baby. She took meticulous notes so I could share all of the information with my husband. I have had friends who also needed help breastfeeding and I recommend Julie every time. They have also had amazing experiences with her. She was so gentle with my little one and made me feel so confident in breastfeeding. Even though I now feel like a professional after 5 months, I will always have her to my home when my future children are born to help make the process even better."
Jaime K.
"I wish we would have found Julie sooner! She is extremely caring, kind, professional and experienced. My daughter was born at the 75th percentile for weight and over the course of 8 weeks, she dropped to the 5th percentile. We had tried everything- changing up our feeding schedules, pumping, supplementing, etc. We had seen multiple doctors and nurse practitioners, all who claimed to be lactation specialists, with no luck. We were lost and I not only feared my daughter had health problems, but I thought I would have to stop breastfeeding. Luckily my Doula recommended Julie so we gave her a try. She was able to meet with us right away, observed a feeding, examined my daughter’s mouth, went over breastfeeding techniques, and gave us tips for diet and nutrition. With her expertise and support, we ended up finding out my daughter had a lip and tongue tie. She was able to help us through this process of finding an expert practitioner for the procedure, and saw us through the recovery to ensure my daughter re-learned how to eat. It’s been a little over a month since we first met with Julie and my daughter is gaining weight, I am 100% breastfeeding again, and we are no longer going to stressful doctor appointments!
I would highly recommend Julie if you have any questions or issues, not only with breastfeeding but with weight issues in general. We appreciated her willingness to problem-solve with us when no one else knew what to do, and thanks to her we found the answers!"
Amelia J.
"Julie was and continues to be a godsend. As a new mother breastfeeding did not come as easy for me. I was frustrated and needed help ASAP. I called Julie on a Thursday afternoon and we scheduled an appointment for the next day. She came to my home and put me at ease right away. Not only did we improve my current routine but she also educated me on the whole breastfeeding process. She provided me with great notes, that I still use to this day. Her advice, helped my body and my emotional state heal. I felt instantly more confident the day she left. However, if I ever had any questions I was able to get a response in a very timely and fast fashion.
I can’t wait to schedule another session with her in the near future to discuss pumping and bottle feeding. I would recommend Julie to all my friends who wanted to improve their breastfeeding situation."
Christine I.
"I found Julie through Zipmilk.org when I was looking for a lactation consultent to help me with my breastfeeding journey. The nurses at the hospital had me use a nipple shield to help my son latch quickly. I realized when I got home that the shield was a major hassle and I did not know how to transition him off of it. I was reluctant to ask for help, but I am so happy that I did! Julie was able to come over for a home visit at my earliest convenience. She answered my many questions, created an individualized plan, and taught me how to transition him off of the shield (which I did not need after that day)! I am now much more confident breast feeding and have a great resource to contact when I need help."
Sarah M.
Julie was great to work with as she was very accommodating and came out to see my little one and me the very next day after I called. I was desperate for help as nursing my 4 day old was very painful and she was having a very hard time latching. Julie came to the house, driving about an hour to cover for another IBCLC that serves my area, and was able to help with latching, positioning, and help with referrals for tongue and lip ties. My daughter had both her tongue and lip ties revised when she was 10 days old which helped with her latch and the pediatrician was pleased with her weight gain at her two week check up! Julie also provided us with exercises to help retrain the muscles for nursing which helped tremendously. Being able to get in-home help with such a passionate and caring individual when I was a new mom, exhausted, and very stressed about feeding my baby has helped me to continue with my breastfeeding goals and develop a great love and attachment to my now 8 week old that is healthy and happy! Thank you again Julie!"
Ashley D.
"Julie has been a huge support in my breastfeeding journey with my second baby. Starting from assuring me and proving me a LOT of super valuable information in the prenatal consult (since I had a difficult time with my first one), she visited me in the hospital when my son was born and multiple times at home in the early weeks to help us navigate tongue and lip tie issues, engorgement issues, my concerns about his weight gain, transition to bottle feeding when I went back to work and now with transition to nursing as a toddler. I can’t thank her enough for her support, empathy, knowledge and prompt responses to my numerous emails. I highly recommend Julie as a lactation consultant."
Shruthi A.