"Calm. Caring. Knowledgable. Encouraging."
What Clients Say:
As you read the testimonials and reviews below, you will understand better how I work to help people when they have challenges with breastfeeding.
If you’d like to share your own experience, there is a form here and at the bottom of the page. Sharing your story helps other parents know when and why to seek professional support. Instead of anxiety and imagining, your story helps them fill in the who, what, where, when and how, of a lactation consultation with me.
"Donna Bruschi was a lucky find for me.
After a single visit by the hospital lactation consultant, I felt breastfeeding was going well. Baby gained back more than his birth weight by our first pediatrician’s appointment and he was nursing every 2 hours around-the-clock. This was what I expected and what seemed to be working.
Five days after discharge, a lactation consultant I never met at the hospital, phoned for follow-up. After describing the eating, diapering and sleeping habits of the baby, I was told that I was doing everything wrong and he was clearly not eating enough. One simple, stupid comment threw the previous week’s successes right out the window.
I reached out to my doula and she gave me private resources to call for help.
And one was Donna.
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My first call was on a Saturday night at about 9:30 p.m. I was dreading another overnight with a frustrated baby who wanted to sleep while I was trying to make him continue eating.
Donna talked me off the ledge that night. I was getting ready to quit, something I do not usually do. I was frustrated, my baby was frustrated, my husband was frustrated and my mother-in-law was annoying. Donna let me talk, calmed me and helped me relax enough to get through the night without tears – mine at least.
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The next day, in the snow, she trekked over for a home visit. Donna worked patiently with me to help me get my confidence back, gave me help in coping with extreme engorgement and helped me see that I was doing fine. The baby was happily eating and growing and dirtying many, many diapers.
Those two hours did wonders to help me feel like I was doing what my baby needed and he was happily doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing.
Donna also left me with more resources, including New Baby New Paltz, and the reassurance that she was a phone call away if I had any more problems.
Throughout my son’s first year, and beyond, Donna continued to serve as a resource for all things strange and unique about babies.
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With a toddler, I thought I had outgrown New Baby New Paltz; no more need for a breast pump even though my son was still nursing, no more teethers and baby toys. And then after nursing for more than 2 years - through engorgement, freak-outs, nursing strikes, illnesses and work–- I was now dealing with the bane of many new mothers: mastitis.
I was in the second week of a new job, facing the death of a close relative and not feeling well. A trip to the doctor revealed a fever of 104 and that tell-tale mastitis redness. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and told me to rest – and, my favorite - right in the middle of a raging infection for which the best medicine is to keep nursing, I was told that that it was absolutely time to stop nursing that baby. So I called Donna.
She again started me with some advice over the phone.
But trying to make a toddler nurse more often is not an easy task. When the pain increased again and my fever started spiking on Easter Sunday, I ended up in the emergency room. There was little for the ER doctors to do except take blood cultures to make sure the infection wasn’t spreading and give me more antibiotics.
Donna, on the other hand, made another house call; in her Easter best, on the way home from dinner with her family.
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We worked through some of the clogging that had led to the mastitis and developed a plan of care to work through the clogs. It was several weeks of work, a visit to a breast specialist and a lot of grief but I got through the infection and its aftermath – including a dilated milk duct.
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Through the last 2+ years, Donna has been, and continues to be, a resource for me and many other women in the region. I regularly hand her name and number out to expectant moms locally and beyond as well as to health care providers. I cannot recommend her services, store and groups highly enough.
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Isabel Dichiara
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"Donna was an incredible resource for me
Donna was an incredible resource for me at a time when I felt vulnerable and discouraged.
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My son hadn't gained his birth weight back by his three week check up so our pediatrician nonchalantly told me to supplement with formula. I was determined to solely breastfeed so I reached out to Donna. I immediately felt comfortable in the safe & nonjudgmental space she had created. My consultation with her was both reassuring, therapeutic and very practical.
I am forever grateful to Donna for connecting with me during this time of growth and transformation. I would highly recommend her as a lactation consultant to mothers who are in need of some extra TLC and a vote of confidence.
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Sarah Oles
"From the very first moment my son latched on, it hurt.
I felt intense, toe curling pain which made me cry and not want to feed him. I asked for help in the hospital and the lactation consultants and nurses all said that his latch looked good. I figured they were the experts, so I sucked it up and kept nursing.
I had been on pain relievers for the first two or three days but when they ran out and the real pain kicked in, I realized that I needed help. I asked my friends and most of them said that I should give it a couple of weeks and the pain would just go away.
My husband couldn't take me crying anymore and he started googling: 'lactation consultant near me'. He found Donna and it sounded like she really knew what she was talking about. He called her at 7:30 am and to our surprise, she answered! She made an appointment to see us later in the day.
I was in so much pain, I doubted anything could help.
Donna only asked a few questions before my baby wanted to eat. I struggled to get him to latch and when he did, I cried out in pain. She told me to breathe through it and coached me through some adjustments in my position and then my son's. Unlike the "handsy" LCs at the hospital, Donna didn't touch me. At one point, when I wasn't understanding, she asked if she could guide me. She placed her hand on mine and guided it into position under my son's head. It took 5-10 minutes to make all the adjustments.
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My pain went from toe-curling to manageable.
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Donna then examined my son's suck, palate and mouth. She referred us back to my chiropractor for adjustments and to a pediatric dentist for a tongue tie evaluation. We did have his tongue tie and both lip ties revised. The dentist also told us to have body work for our baby.
I had seen my chiropractor for years and he had invited us to bring our baby in.
Even after all the years and all the benefit I had received, bring our baby to a chiropractor didn't make any sense to us, but after Donna and the dentist recommended it, and we did go. After one adjustment, I nursed him and all the pain was gone. It did creep back over the next day and we went regularly for his first year to keep it pain free. I have talked to many other parents about our experience and found that 2 or 3, or maybe up to 10 adjustments, completely resolved their pain.
I am a believer in chiropractic adjustments for myself and I can see how he has also benefitted, so I don't regret the time and money spent.
We attended Donna's social circle until I went back to work. The support and camaraderie really helped me understand the "why, when's and what's" of breastfeeding. We nursed until he was two and it felt rewarding to have that bond with him.
I would highly recommend Donna to anyone who is in pain from nursing.
Breastfeeding shouldn't hurt and there are many resources to help if it does. And, many doctors, nurses and even lactation consultants will not give you the in-depth information and support you need to figure out complicated problems.
Lynne
"I believe I wouldn't be breastfeeding today,
had it not been for Donna's first visit which got us going...and gave me encouragement!
It was so incredibly helpful having her visit right after the baby was born....everyone should have this kind of support!"
Elle Cage , Woodstock
"Donna is very informative and inclusive.
I didn't have a mother's group when my first was a baby. I had a lot of loneliness and anxiety. I often felt like I was doing something wrong or that my baby was doing something wrong. I knew I didn't need to call the doctor, but not knowing anyone who could answer questions about what he was doing, caused a lot of stress and anxiety.
I didn't have support to work through my nursing questions.
My son just weaned at 3 weeks and that was that. There was no one saying "If you try 'this' or 'this', you can work things out and keep nursing."
With my second, I found a really nice, safe place called the New Mother's Social Circle.
I could get answers and learn about other mothers' experiences. I was able to vent and to meet mom friends. I learned so much. I learned that in a nursing relationship, there's no deadline when you have to wean.
It's a very welcoming and safe place to talk about mothering. There is always someone there who has just been through what you are going through, or is going thru what you've just gone through. There is a camaraderie in knowing I am not alone - I don't have to face parenting and life in a constant state of confusion and anxiety.
Support helped most the first time my milk supply dropped during ovulation. I was encouraged that there was a reason ‘why’ that I could work through and not just quit and say, "Nursing didn't work."
Donna offers lots of information around why choices are made.
She never makes someone feel wrong with their choices. She's clear and honest in what she sees, but she's kind, warm and thorough, not blunt and cold. She has a wealth of knowledge which helps me make my own decisions. I feel confident doing it the way I believe is the right way.
As a mother of a two year old, I'm really grateful for the confidence I have now. I am more assertive and confident now, with people who don't parent like me or with those who criticize me.
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Martha
"This week's newsletter was pitch perfect.
Somehow you know just what to say at just the right time. We've been discussing how and when we want to start to transition our daughter to her own room. I feel like I've read every book and listened to every advice out there, but yours rings truest and we've been taking it day by day (or night by night). It's nice to have your thoughts reinforced, with "Hey, you've got the idea"!
Thanks so much!
Love,
Amy
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