Lactation Specialist Overpriced?

The controversy over how overpriced it is to see a lactation counselor has reached me here at Latched & Loved.

I know my prices, I know that there are some families that can’t afford that and, if you personally reach out to me, I’m more than willing to figure something out to make it work so that you and your baby get the help you deserve! With that being said, the job I do not only I’m your home with you and your baby but also behind the screen preparing breastfeeding plans, working through loads of information to find exactly what you are looking for, creating content that is pertinent to the needs of my moms, driving to and from visits and reaching out to you free of charge, or even coming back for a free follow up, to make sure things are still going ok and breastfeeding, pumping or pregnancies are thriving.

Let’s break down the cost of an in- home consultation ($125) to see what my take home amount is •• I spent about an hour before every visit preparing breastfeeding plans & finding answers to all your questions. Depending on where you living I spent 10-30 minutes driving there and 10-30 minutes driving home (that’s if I’m not traveling further to see moms who have reached out and are outside my area). We will spend 1.5 hours together during our visit (and often we run over that time because baby is in the middle of a feed, I have more information I’d like to share, you have more questions, etc.) After our visit I spend another 30-45 minutes going through everything we discussed, getting it all written out and compiling it into a file just for you. By the time I’m done with all that I’ve spent about 4 hours on one visit alone, that brings us to about $31/hr. But, don’t forget I have to pay for the gas to get me back and forth, and as we all know, gas is not cheap. We’ll take $5 away for each local visit, that brings us to $26/hr. <— this number right here is my take home amount BEFORE taxes.. we wont even worry about deducting taxes, we’ll stop right here.

Now, next time you question why lactation counseling is so expensive, remember all the love & dedication we put in to each and every one of our clients and their little ones.

This job is my dream job, and I’d do it for nothing if I could afford to.

I love all my mamas and all the success stories I get to be apart of.

So, if you’re considering hiring a lactation specialist, just know, we aren’t in it for the money. We’re doing this because we love it!

xoxo

Chelyn McCain, CLC