Mothers beware! I strongly do NOT recommend using Renee as your lactation consultant! If I could give zero stars, I would! We had an extremely negative and traumatic experience with Renee.
Our son started off his first week and half of life having some challenges in getting a good latch and successfully breastfeeding. We contacted Renee and set up an appt. for her to come to our house, see what we were doing, and offer support. Our son started getting better the day before she came and we considered canceling, but decided to keep the appt. in the assumption that it could only help and that we'd learn something. We were wrong. Renee came and offered her "help," but she spent the entire 2-hour visit berating us, telling us what we were doing was all wrong, that we were starving our son, and that we should not be breastfeeding at all and should instead use formula and a bottle!
She left us in worse shape and it took us days to get him back to where he was before she came.
Here are the low-lights of Renee's consulting:
- Never once did she ask to see what we were doing presently and watch my wife breastfeed our son.
- Never once did she talk about her own personal experiences with breastfeeding.
- She bad-mouthed other IBCLCs and doctors that she had worked with and told us they were all wrong and she was right.
- She "diagnosed" our son as needing a helmet to make sure that "his brain grows correctly."
- She "diagnosed" my wife as not having the right breast type to breastfeed.
- She forcefully pushed our son's head onto my wife's breast repeatedly in her attempt to get a good latch. We did tell her stop at that point because he was crying and looked in pain. We had to have our newborn chiropractor readjust him to fix what damage she caused.
- She contacted our doula and questioned her about us, our son, and his health --- all AFTER we REVOKED consent for her to contact our other care providers.
- She took a personal phone call in the middle of the appt. (without asking if it was okay), saying that it was about her car and she needed to take it.
She left the house and appt. with my wife in tears . . . saying that all new moms cry at her appointments. Really?! That's what she calls support? That's what I call emotional abuse and torment! Renee was not open to hearing about other ways to do things, was not patient at all with her demeanor and bedside manner, and not friendly or kind to us. Rather, she was short, dismissive, rude, unprofessional.
New mothers need patience, kindness, and understanding. They can be emotionally fragile and need someone there for support and guidance. They need someone to care, to listen, and to coach. Renee is NOT that person. Use someone else. Analyze these reviews --- The positive ones are from 2012 or earlier. The more recent reviews show her to be what we experienced. Someone who is jaded, self-absorbed, and who you should not be using as your lactation consultant.
We only wish that we had asked her leave our house sooner and not have inflicted as much damage as she did; but with this review, I hope to inform you about her services and guide you elsewhere. read more