Clare’s thriving practice has helped countless mothers and newborns form healthy and positive feeding experiences.
Although I prefer to see mothers face-to-face, I do offer FaceTime or telephone consultations to mothers who live too far away to come to see me in person. During the Covid lockdown, I was surprised to find that I was able to resolve many breast-feeding problems in a 60-75 minute FaceTime consultation, including helping babies as old as 6-8 weeks to latch on for the first time ever. However, my advice on most breast & bottle feeding problems is covered in great detail in my books and DVD, so it might be worth having a look at these before booking a telephone consultation.
Yes: If you live within reasonable travelling distance of Putney (Erpingham Road, Putney SW15 1BG), I am happy to come to you.
NB. I charge more for home visits as I include my travel time & costs.
Sadly not! I can give usually help with problems such as:
- difficulties in latching
- sore nipples
- engorged breasts
- mastitis
- unsettled babies
but I cannot always help if:
- you have a low milk supply and standard advice (eating, drinking, feeding & expressing) has not worked
- your baby is unable to suck efficiently at the breast even if he is latched on perfectly and has no obvious problems such as a tongue-tie. Some lambs need to be bottle-fed & so do some babies!
Yes! I think it is very important that a baby is happy to feed from a bottle as well as the breast so I am always happy to advise mothers who are having bottle-feeding problems. In particular, I often see older babies (usually aged 3-6 months) who have never been given a bottle and are refusing point blank to suck on one. I always hope to resolve the issue of bottle rejection in one 60 minute session and I also discuss this problem in great detail in my books.
Yes. I am happy to give informed and unbiased advice on all equipment, including:
- nipple shields
- breast pumps
- bottles/teats
- formula milks
I have a very different approach to breast feeding, in particular when it comes to latching the baby on. I completely disagree with the ‘nose-to-nipple’ method which is the current trend as I think this makes it more difficult for the baby to latch on & is often the main cause of sore nipples. I can usually demonstrate that my ‘mouth-to-nipple’ followed by ‘shape-and-shove’ technique immediately helps:
- the baby to latch on quickly & easily
- to prevent sore nipples
- to enable the baby to get the milk more easily, so feed times are shorter
Yes. In addition to home & hospital visits, I also see clients in my consulting room in Putney (Erpingham Road, Putney SW15 1BG).
I normally see a client once, for a 60-75 minute consultation. It is very unusual for a client to need a second session. This is usually enough time to resolve the problem and then explain how breastfeeding works. I will discuss:
- how long a feed should last
- how you know when your baby has had enough milk
- whether to use one breast or two
- how frequently to feed
- common ‘baby’ problems such as wind, colic & reflux
- common breastfeeding problems such as low milk supply, unsettled after feeds
I charge £150 for a consultation at my house in Putney (Erpingham Road, Putney SW15 1BG), which normally lasts about 60-75 minutes or longer if needed. I charge more for doing home visits to reflect the time involved and charges will vary depending on how far I have to travel.