An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant is a health professional certified in breastfeeding and lactation care. IBCLCs can assess a feed, check your baby's latch and oral function, and make a plan for problems such as pain, low supply or slow weight gain.

Does insurance cover a lactation consultant?

Under the Affordable Care Act, most private health plans in the US must cover breastfeeding support and counseling, and breast pumps, without cost sharing. Coverage details vary, so ask your insurer which lactation providers are in network.

Is breastfeeding support free?

Many options are free: La Leche League meetings and phone help, WIC peer counselors for families enrolled in WIC, hospital breastfeeding classes and warm lines, and the MotherToBaby and InfantRisk medication services.

When should I get help right away?

Call your baby's doctor the same day if your baby has too few wet or dirty diapers, seems very sleepy, is jaundiced or isn't gaining weight. Call your own doctor for a fever, a hot, red painful area of the breast or flu-like symptoms. Call 911 for any emergency.

Breastfeeding Support: Where to Get Help (US Directory)

Breastfeeding is natural, but it is also a skill that you and your baby learn together, and almost everyone needs help at some point. Getting support early makes a real difference: many problems, like a painful latch or a baby who isn’t gaining well, are much easier to fix in the first days than after weeks of struggling. Here’s who can help, what they do and how to reach them.

In an emergency, call 911. If you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262) right now.

Lactation professionals

IBCLC lactation consultants

An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) is the most highly trained breastfeeding specialist. An IBCLC can watch a full feed, check your baby’s latch and mouth (including tongue tie), weigh your baby before and after a feed, check your pump flange size and make a written plan with you.

How to find one:

Your birth hospital. Most hospitals have lactation consultants on the maternity ward, and many run outpatient clinics or phone lines after you go home. Ask before you are discharged.
Your pediatrician or OB-GYN. Many practices have an IBCLC on staff or can refer you.
Directories: search the USLCA Find an IBCLC directory or ILCA’s directory at findalactationconsultant.com. Many offer home visits or video calls.
Your insurance. Most US health plans must cover breastfeeding support and counseling. Ask your insurer for in-network lactation providers.

Other professionals

Certified lactation counselors (CLC) and certified lactation educators also offer help, often in hospitals, clinics and WIC offices. Your baby’s pediatrician should be your first call for anything about your baby’s health, weight or diapers, and your OB-GYN or midwife for anything about your body, such as fever, breast infection or bleeding.

Free peer support

La Leche League. Volunteer leaders, all experienced breastfeeding parents with training, run free meetings (in person and online) and answer questions by phone and email. Find a group through La Leche League USA or La Leche League International.
WIC. If you are enrolled in WIC, you can get free help from a WIC breastfeeding peer counselor, and in many clinics an IBCLC, as well as a breast pump if you need one. See WIC Breastfeeding Support or ask your local WIC office.
Hospital and community groups. Many hospitals, birth centers and libraries host free breastfeeding support groups.

Medicine and exposure questions

Most medicines are compatible with breastfeeding, but it’s always worth checking. These free services answer questions about medicines, vaccines, herbs, alcohol and other exposures while breastfeeding:

Service	How to reach it	What it does
MotherToBaby	Call 866-626-6847, or chat, text and email via mothertobaby.org	Free, confidential information in English and Spanish about medicines and other exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding
InfantRisk Center	Call 806-352-2519 (weekdays, Central time)	Call center answering questions about medicines while breastfeeding
LactMed	Online database (NIH)	Detailed, referenced summaries of how medicines pass into breast milk

You can also ask your pharmacist. Our guide is it safe while breastfeeding? covers the most common questions about cold medicine, pain relief, alcohol and more.

Emotional support and mental health

Feeling overwhelmed, anxious or low after having a baby is common, and so is feeling sad or guilty when breastfeeding doesn’t go as planned. You deserve support too.

National Maternal Mental Health Hotline: call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262). Free, confidential, 24 hours a day, in English and Spanish, with interpreters for many other languages.
Postpartum Support International (PSI) HelpLine: call 1-800-944-4773 or text “HELP” to 800-944-4773 (Spanish text line: 971-203-7773). Not a crisis line; calls are returned within about a day.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 at any time if you are in crisis.

Tell your doctor or midwife how you are feeling: postpartum depression and anxiety are treatable, and many treatments are compatible with breastfeeding.

When to get help

Reach out to a lactation professional if:

breastfeeding hurts beyond the first few seconds of a feed, or your nipples are cracked or bleeding (sore nipples)
your baby can’t latch, falls asleep quickly at every feed or feeds for over an hour most of the time
you are worried about your milk supply (milk supply guide)
you have a hard, painful area in your breast (clogged milk duct, mastitis)
you are going back to work and need a pumping schedule
you want to stop breastfeeding and need a gentle plan (weaning)

Call your baby’s doctor the same day if your baby has fewer wet or dirty diapers than expected, looks more yellow, is very sleepy and hard to wake for feeds, or isn’t gaining weight. Call your doctor if you have a fever, chills or a red, hot, painful area of the breast.

New to breastfeeding? Start with our breastfeeding basics guide.

Breastfeeding Support: Where to Get Help