My wife had problems getting our son to latch, and Yolanda was a lifesaver! I'm not exactly sure how she did it, but the change in my family is night and day. read more

Left a message on her voicemail on Friday, it's now Wednesday. No call back. :( That sucks even worse when you are in need of some help. Would not recommend. read more

I highly recommend Yolanda Fortin. My experience with her was very positive. I reached out to her via email and she responded quickly. Most of my correspondence with her was through email and she always replied in a timely manner. She came to my home to work with me and my 5 week old son who had a tight jaw when nursing. Yolanda was thorough, knowledgeable, gentle, and made sure she went over all details. She is full of resources. And most important, the exercises and information she gave me worked! I quickly corrected any issues I had with breastfeeding. The time I spent with her was well worth it. I recommend Yolanda and feel she's one of the best lactation consultants in the community. read more

Yolanda is an angel! I gave birth to my little guy in July at the birthing center, so we went home within four hours of his arrival. He wasn't properly latching so we knew we needed a lactation consultant. Yolanda came highly recommended from multiple midwives, so I called her. She came to our house the day after our son's birth. Her compassion and expertise were wonderful and put me at ease right away. She has a scale she brought that weighed our guy precisely, down to a fraction of an ounce. We hired her three different times and I can confidently say that was the BEST money we have ever spent. I would HIGHLY recommend Yolanda to anyone having trouble breastfeeding. read more

Yolanda was an absolute Godsend! I welcomed my first child two months ago in August of 2017. I had so many challenges with breast feeding from day 1, and I started working with Yolanda several days after my little girl was born. Yolanda was amazing at listening and observing my situation, educating me on breastfeeding 101, and she fully put my mind at ease at every session. She was also incredibly responsive to my calls and texts during the weeks. She is very approachable, knowledgeable and I couldn't have gotten through my first month as a new mom without her. Thank you Yolanda! read more

I highly recommend Yolanda as a lactation consultant. I went to see her at two weeks postpartum because I was having such problems with breastfeeding - nipple damage, milk supply, latch problems, etc. She worked with me to heal my nipple through pumping on one side, fixing the latch and working on my milk supply without supplementation. Yolanda was open to meeting with me over and over (I was a basket case!), and she also texted and called between appointments. She is such a helpful and supportive person - the perfect personality for the high-anxiety, low-sleep postpartum period! My little girl is now ten weeks, and we have been enjoying a wonderful breastfeeding relationship. It definitely takes time - started to feel normal and enjoyable around six weeks postpartum - but it is completely worth it. I never would have gotten here without Yolanda's support, advice and expertise. read more

I first reached out to Yolanda when my son was 4 months old and breastfeeding was going well, but I suspected he had a tongue and lip tie. I work as a birth and postpartum doula in south OC and have heard many good things about Yolanda so I believed I was going with the best LC in the area. We made an appointment where she came to my home and accessed how we were doing. Everything at this appointment went very well. About two months later I suddenly found myself in tremendous pain while nursing so I reached out to Yolanda to ask for help. She asked me a couple questions and gave me a couple suggestions to try. After doing what she had recommended, I was in more pain than ever and had developed what I thought was a clogged duct and/or mastitis. So I called her basically in tears asking for help and left her a voicemail. To be fair, this was on a Saturday, I can understand if she does not take work calls on the weekends. When I didn't hear back from her that day or the following, I thought I'd wait for Monday, surely she'd get back to me then. But I did not hear back from her on Monday. I NEVER heard back from her! I was at my lowest point in breastfeeding and I couldn't get a call back. I was disappointed to say the least. Fast forward another 3 months and I suddenly found myself with a drastically diminished milk supply, seemingly overnight, and I didn't know who else to turn to so I reached out to Yolanda via email. She replied fairly quickly recommending we schedule a phone call. I let her know a good time that worked for me and gave her my phone number. She said that time slot would work for her as well and she would "try" to call me. Well, good thing I didn't hold my breath, SHE NEVER CALLED!! She never even sent me an email saying that time didn't work for her anymore, nothing. I would expect a professional to at least make an attempt to reschedule if the original time slot was no longer doable. But instead, I haven't heard from her since. I was willing to give Yolanda the benefit of the doubt the first time I was let down by her because things happen. But for her to now do this to me twice is completely unacceptable! read more

I had a great experience with Yolanda! I had her come over 4 days after my son was born. I was struggling with nursing and had a LOT of questions. She was kind and patient and a great communicator. She was at my house for an hour and the $100 was worth every penny. Mainly, she helped me feel more confident in feeding and gave me tons of applicable advice. I highly recommend her for any first time mom! read more

Yolanda was great! Very thorough, knowledgeable and reassuring. After misinformation with my first LC, I took a hit in my supply. Yolanda offered a detailed plan to rebuild my milk supply, and while it did take a few weeks, it worked. Thank you, Yolanda! read more

I went to see Yolanda 3 weeks ago when my daughter was 9 weeks old. I had been dealing with an oversupply and an overactive letdown for months and my baby was fussy and gassy all of the time. One night I felt so defeated that I broke down crying (not the first time). I already had Yolanda's number from my doula so I decided to call her and she agreed to meet with me the next morning. Yolanda made me feel instantly calm. Her relaxed and warm demeanor made it easy for me to feed my daughter in her office (she never ate outside the home). Yolanda watched her eat and assured me that we could solve the problem. I felt relieved and inspired to give it one more shot. She gave me specific instructions on what to do and was very patient when I went on and on with all my questions. Yolanda kept in touch with me over the next few weeks and answered any new questions that came up. Now, 3 weeks later, my daughter is eating so much better. I don't want to jinx it, but our feeding sessions are almost perfect! I'm so happy I called Yolanda! read more

As a childbirth educator and doula, I love sending my mamas to Yolanda for support. She consistently provides the highest level of service at a time when a mama is often feeling overwhelmed by breastfeeding obstacles. Yolanda listens to her clients and provides sound insights based on her years of experience and extensive education. She is warm, honest and so easy to work with. I trust her completely and I encourage you to reach out to her if you are struggling to feed your sweet baby. You don't have to struggle. Support from Yolanda is priceless. I feel so lucky we have her in our community. Thank you for all you do Yolanda! read more

Yolanda was an incredible resource in a moment of desperation. She was super responsive, made great suggestions, and empathetic. I would highly recommend her at any point in your breast feeding journey. read more

Yolanda is awesome. She instantly puts you at ease which is essential because this can be a very stressful time. She is a tremendous resource and I would definitely recommend her to anyone needing to figure out breastfeeding! read more

Yolanda is an outstanding IBCLC. More often than not, new breastfeeding persons need professional, skilled assistance in some way. As a birth doula, I can only prepare people for so much and encourage them to take a breast feeding class before birth. If clients need help, I give them Yolanda's contact information/website. Her breast-feeding boot camp classes are amazing!! She has such a wonderful teaching style and the information is applicable and real. If my birth doula clients are unable to take her breast-feeding class, then they know she is available to do in home or office consultations. Every client that I have ever referred to her, has been so thankful and appreciative of her knowledge, expertise and support. The Orange Co. area is so fortunate to have her. Thank you, Yolanda, for all you do. read more

It is hard for words in a review to do justice to the wonders of Yolanda, but here is my best. Not only has she given me and my 5 week old son the gift of breastfeeding, and gotten me to a place where I am confident I will continue well into his first year, but she has also become a dear friend- something I am so grateful for being a new mom and having moved to California only recently. First of all, Yolanda is brilliant in all ways- enquire about her background and you will be awed by the depths of her education (a science PhD!). With kids of her own, she is not only an expert in lactation, but in being a mom as well. She is kind, and cool, and cultured and has taught me so much in a few short weeks. I was introduced to Yolanda by my midwife, after a difficult delivery in which I lost almost 3 liters of blood and was very anemic. My son was jaundiced after delivery, and after 2 days home from the hospital where he was taking hours to breastfeed, and I was too weak to sustain this, he had stopped pooping and peeing. Yolanda responded to me immediately and came to see me that very day. She devised a very simple (and sane!) plan utilizing my pump for a few days to help my milk production, let me get some sleep, and get calories into my son easily. Within 36 hours his jaundice was practically gone, he was going to the bathroom regularly, and had gained a few ounces. Within a few days he was over birthweight and significantly stronger. She returned to me 1-2x a week, to help transition off the pump and to breastfeeding, but he was still struggling due to a tongue and lip tie which I suspected and she diagnosed. She was instrumental in getting me an appointment with one of the top specialists in infant tongue and lip ties in Orange County that very day to get the laser revision. She provided support over the next 2 weeks as his mouth healed and with weighted feeds helped my confidence that I was supplying and feeding him appropriately. After a bout of mild mastitis, she returned to help me re-gain my supply and again check on my son who has been steadily gaining an ounce a day and is thankfully super healthy. With her help I have even been able to store over 100oz of milk thus far in my freezer for an upcoming trip where I will be separated from my son. Throughout all of this she has been responsive to all of my texts and enquiries and provided valued advice that is always spot on. Yolanda is generous with her time, fair with her rates, and worth every penny. Most importantly, it is clear how much she cares about me and my son and helping us. I know many people she works with and everyone feels the same. I am grateful everyday for having been introduced to her and for all of her help thus far! read more

As a new mom and not having done any research into breastfeeding during my pregnancy, I was very overwhelmed when I came home with Baby. I would have stopped trying to breastfeed soon after coming home but my husband found Yolanda! She did a few house calls to teach me about latch, timing feedings, how to recognize hunger cues, how to use my breast pump, etc. She was always available at a moments notice.- which is so important when you are nursing and are having issues. Yolanda was so knowledgeable and her relaxed demeanor put me and Baby at ease. I am much more comfortable breastfeeding after 11 weeks and Baby is gaining lots of weight. I highly recommend her services! read more

Yolanda is so knowledgeable about breastfeeding! She really took the time at our home visit to encourage us to keep going with breastfeeding and show us different techniques to make our experience better. Highly recommend! read more

After suffering through weeks of stressful feedings and a gassy newborn I decided I needed more support. Yolanda came highly recommended by my son's pediatrician. I told myself that I would give breastfeeding another week, but if there was no improvement I couldn't put my son or myself through such stressful feedings. I called Yolanda, and she immediately put me at ease. She was patient in answering all my questions over the phone, and was at my house the next morning. She is so knowledgable, answered all mine and my husbands questions, and most of all encourages you! I felt so much better by the time she left. Also, a few days later she followed up to see how feedings were going. I followed all her recommendations and happy to say we are still breastfeeding, and totally enjoying it! I would recommend her to anyone that is finding breastfeeding challenging and looking for support! read more

Yolanda is amazing! The day after my baby was born, Yolanda came over to our house and helped me and my baby with her latch. She helped us to have a good latch so that my nipples would not hurt. A couple of days after that, we contacted her again because our baby was not gaining enough weight according to our pediatrician. Yolanda helped sort out our problems, ease our concerns and provided us with advice that made sense. Whenever I had breastfeeding problems, I could count on Yolanda to give me immediate advice and explanations for why. She is so patient and understands the anxiety that first time moms have. I highly recommend her if you have any breastfeeding questions. I have been successfully breastfeeding my daughter for 6 months now and much of that is thanks to Yolanda. read more

Yolanda is a miracle worker! I had trouble breastfeeding in the first few weeks of my baby's life. With her encouragement, kindness and great knowledge, I was able to nurse until my daughter was 2! read more

I heard about Yolanda through Granola Babies in Costa Mesa. She's great! She came to our house during "crazy time" with my toddler running around, which was preferable so she could see our real life environment. It was nice to meet with someone who wasn't in scrubs or a lab coat. And instead was a highly educated and relatable mom. She's patient and has tons of tips for any stage of breastfeeding. She seems like an all around great person as well. Definitely recommend! read more

As a first time mom and like most first-time moms I doubted I was breast-feeding correctly and that my son was getting proper nutrition. I was frantic trying to get him to latch, wondering if he was eating correctly, and losing the little sleep that I was getting over all the worrying. I contacted Yolanda and within hours she was at my house reassuring me, cheering me on and helping me with my baby. She's warm caring, knowledgeable, easy-going and puts you at ease. In short, she's amazing and I highly recommend her to anyone that needs someone in their corner cheering them on! read more

Yolanda is a miracle worker. When she came to my home, my nipples were cracked and bleeding, and my son was spitting up blood. She helped me get him in a deeper latch after many different nurses and lactation consultants at the hospital could not. She is an encouragement and follows up with you to ensure you keep having success! Thanks for your help! read more

If I could give Yolanda 10 stars I would. She is an absolute godsend and a miracle worker. I had given up breastfeeding after countless failed and tearful attempts. Yolanda diagnosed the problem within 20 minutes and came up with a workaround solution. Since she left my house, I have been breastfeeding my baby exclusively with no issue. Exclusively pumping was not ideal for me for a number of reasons and I couldn't be more grateful to Yolanda for her help and guidance. She is incredibly knowledgeable in this realm and extremely warm and empathetic. Cannot recommend her more highly. read more

Calling Yolanda was the best decision I could have made. The first night home from the hospital was really hard--I wasn't getting good latches and I was in a fair amount of pain. I couldn't stomach the thought of another long night, so I called Yolanda in the morning and she came to see me the same day. She has such a great, positive presence and really knows her stuff. She was able to help with all of our concerns and questions and was incredibly reassuring. It really got things off on the right foot. Plus, she made herself available for follow up questions by phone or text and even checked in with me days later to see how the baby and I were doing. I would recommend her to anyone. Some insurance plans will cover lactation consulting, but even if yours doesn't (and mine didn't) it was worth every penny for the peace of mind she gave us. read more