Why choose Catherine Belonogoff IBCLC and Mother's Milk NJ?

Mother’s Milk NJ mission is to contribute to helping parents feel resilient and knowledgeable so they can trust themselves and grow.

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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. ​

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. 

I BELIEVE...

​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, parents have the potential to feel better, stronger and more confident.

My code of ethics...

The Code of Professional Conduct consists of eight principles, which require every IBCLC to:

• Provide services that protect, promote and support breastfeeding
• Act with due diligence
• Preserve the confidentiality of clients
• Report accurately and completely to other members of the healthcare team
• Exercise independent judgment and avoid conflicts of interest
• Maintain personal integrity
• Uphold the professional standards expected of an IBCLC
• Comply with the IBLCE Disciplinary Procedures

I stand for...

• I stand for parents making the best choice for their families and their own mental, emotional and physical health.
  
• I stand for knowing the science of breastfeeding and breastmilk so that together we can best make feeding and caring for an infant work for parents in their own environments.​
• I stand against misinformation, patronizing and not believing in the inherent strength of women and parents.

My Diversity, Inclusion, Cultural Continuing Education

• ​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

Education
Bachelor of Arts, UC Berkeley 
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), the International Board of Lactation Examiners
Certificated Lactation Education Counselor (CLEC), UC San Diego Extension
Tongue and Lip Tie Assessment and Care Strategies with ILCA and La Leche League
Certified doula and childbirth educator with Childbirth International
IBCLC MasterClass: Oral Habilitation of the Breastfeeding Dyad (tongue tie + oral anatomy and function)

​Volunteer and Professional Organizations
Member of the International Lactation Consultants Association 
La Leche League Leader with Garden State La Leche League in Montclair, New Jersey (retired)
​Baby Cafe Singapore (retired) 

Fitness Coaching Education
​I have a keen interest in physical fitness and have earned a Postpartum Corrective Exercise certification, BirthFit Coach, GGS Level 1 coach, Underground Strength Coach, Strongman, and Pregnancy and Postpartum Strength Training Coach certification. I enjoy lifting very heavy weights and participating in strength sports. More about all my fitness things @mother_of_invention_strong 
I volunteer with La Leche League in Montclair, Essex County, New Jersey.
​ I am the staff IBCLC at the Maternity Wellness Center at Wombkeepers OBGYN in Montclair, NJ.

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