International Board Certified Lactation Consultants are the GOLD Standard of Lactation Care with the most comprehensive education and clinical skills of the maternal-child healthcare team.
Hello, I am Catherine Belonogoff, a lactation consultant, strength coach, mother and advocate for people who chest or breastfeed. I offer office visits in Montclair, Essex County, New Jersey and telehealth anywhere. I've been helping moms and babies for more than a decade. I provide evidence-based options to you during this precious time after a careful assessment of your medical and birth history and feeding goals.
The problem that I see in the US healthcare system is that pregnancy is treated with many doctors visits and classes focused on the birthing process; however, little to nothing is done in response to the postpartum period. You have one or two visits with your ObGyn in the year after you give birth. You are cleared for sex, exercise and “getting back” at 6 weeks whether you feel ready or not. Many employers are eager for you to resume where you left off. If you’ve had a csection, you have less support and the addition of caregiving duties than any other surgical patient. Nobody else is sent home after major surgery with a small human to care for 24/7.
The realities of the postpartum period being denied, erased and unacknowledged creates undue hardship and stress on mothers.
Looking for a way to help solve this problem of postpartum neglect, I went back to school to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Through my work with postpartum mothers in the last 10 years, I saw that with a little attention, some skills based training, most women have the potential to feel better, stronger and more confident.
I have a passion for helping moms feel secure in their decisions and happy with their mothering journeys. Breastfeeding, though natural, is not an easy task.
I have multiple methods and metaphors to teach and assess this very special skill.
Blending what we know about anthropology, history and human development while keeping an eye to what the modern woman wants and needs, Mother's Milk NJ brings reassuring, compassionate, evidence-based clinical lactation care in a judgement-free zone.
This is preventative care where together we build a path to your goals and focus on your strengths with a collaborative, evidence-base plan of action.
Hello, I am Catherine Belonogoff, a lactation consultant, strength coach, mother and advocate for people who chest or breastfeed. I offer office visits in Montclair, Essex County, New Jersey and telehealth anywhere. I've been helping moms and babies for more than a decade. I provide evidence-based options to you during this precious time after a careful assessment of your medical and birth history and feeding goals.
The problem that I see in the US healthcare system is that pregnancy is treated with many doctors visits and classes focused on the birthing process; however, little to nothing is done in response to the postpartum period. You have one or two visits with your ObGyn in the year after you give birth. You are cleared for sex, exercise and “getting back” at 6 weeks whether you feel ready or not. Many employers are eager for you to resume where you left off. If you’ve had a csection, you have less support and the addition of caregiving duties than any other surgical patient. Nobody else is sent home after major surgery with a small human to care for 24/7.
The realities of the postpartum period being denied, erased and unacknowledged creates undue hardship and stress on mothers.
Looking for a way to help solve this problem of postpartum neglect, I went back to school to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Through my work with postpartum mothers in the last 10 years, I saw that with a little attention, some skills based training, most women have the potential to feel better, stronger and more confident.
I have a passion for helping moms feel secure in their decisions and happy with their mothering journeys. Breastfeeding, though natural, is not an easy task.
I have multiple methods and metaphors to teach and assess this very special skill.
Blending what we know about anthropology, history and human development while keeping an eye to what the modern woman wants and needs, Mother's Milk NJ brings reassuring, compassionate, evidence-based clinical lactation care in a judgement-free zone.
This is preventative care where together we build a path to your goals and focus on your strengths with a collaborative, evidence-base plan of action.
Professional code of ethics...The Code of Professional Conduct consists of eight principles, which require every IBCLC to:
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I stand for...
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DIVERSITY, INCLUSIVITY, CULTURAL TRAINING
- Unlearning Obesity
- Decolonizing Lactation
- Learning How to Be Inclusive Practice for the LGBTQ+ Community
- Embracing Neurodiverse families and removing barriers to access in lactation
- Intentional Anti-racism in Private Practice
- Perinatal Mental Health First Aid
Get to Know Me Better
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I have lived in the United States, Russia, Lithuania, England and Singapore and have travelled a fair part of the globe. In New Jersey and Singapore, I have been a breastfeeding coach to thousands of mothers for more than a decade.
Kindness Matters. I volunteer with La Leche League Montclair. I donate to Global Health Media which provides videos for parents and practitioners globally to promote infant and children's health. I donate to WFUV because I love to hear new music and keep up with global news. My style... I am good at making people feel comfortable and love a good laugh. I am good at using real life metaphors to make complex ideas clear. I love to share my knowledge of how breastfeeding works. I love finding win-win outcomes by knowing a lot of options for your breastfeeding/postpartum challenges. I make clients feel like they can connect with me; that you are heard and seen so that you can feel comfortable making your best decision. I love long hikes up a mountain; lifting very heavy weights to very loud music (@Mother_Of_Invention_Strong), raising my kids to know who they are so that they can contribute best to our world and eating really good food around my small town. If you want to know the best tacos in Montclair, I am your girl! |
My Credentials + Education
