Lactation Care & Services
Breastfeeding is a Learned Skill
Breastfeeding* is one of the building blocks for health and is a natural progression from pregnancy to continue to nourish and grow your baby. Nursing isn’t always instinctual, especially at the start. Professional lactation support and having a breastfeeding tribe are important for success.
Lactation Services are offered by Allison Smigiel, one of our Registered Nurses who is a board-certified Lactation Consultant. Services are available to the community and you do not have to be an existing Cocoon client.
We Help With:
- Latching difficulties
- NICU graduates
- Tongue or lip ties
- Sore nipples or painful latch
- Induced lactation or adoptive nursing
- Going back to work: pumping, introducing a bottle, etc.
- Multiples (twins or more)
- Oversupply or low supply
- Mastitis or plugged ducts (ductal narrowing)
- Slow weight gain
- Engorgement
- Thrush
- Exclusive pumpers
- Nursing parents of any gender
- Help with weaning
An hour or two spent with an expert lactation specialist can be all it takes to save you weeks of suffering and get you and your baby (or babies!) on the road to enjoying your breastfeeding journey.
Lactation consultations typically last 90-120 minutes for a first visit and 60-90 minutes for a follow-up. The visit may include an assessment of the breast, infant oral anatomy, latch, and/ or pumping observation. We also offer prenatal breastfeeding consultations and prenatal breastfeeding classes to help you prepare for nursing your baby.
If you think you need a lactation visit, you probably do!
Get in touch with us today!
New York State Breastmilk Depot
Breastmilk Donation :
Do you have a abundant collection of frozen breastmilk taking up your freezer space? Do you desire to help preemie babies or medical complex infants receive life saving breastmilk? You could potentially be a milk donor and help other babies received nourishment and the immune benefits breastmilk offers.
Learn more about breastmilk donation @ https://nymilkbank.org/
Cocoon is an approved New York State Milk Depo for breastmilk
Payment and Insurance Info
The fee for lactation visits can be paid in the following ways.
We are in-network for Aetna, Excellus, UHC, and accept Fidelis with others being added soon. Specialty copay for visit(s) may be involved.
If your insurance company is not in-network, You will be billed directly. You will receive a detailed invoice to submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. Insurance Companies must offer reimbursement for lactation visits according to the Affordable Care Act.
Ready to Get Started?
Ready to Get Started?
*All genders can suckle babies. We use the terms breastfeeding, suckling, lactation, and nursing interchangeably. We eschew the term “chestfeeding” as anatomically inaccurate and unclear. The chest is the thorax, and it plays no part in lactation. All humans have breast tissue, therefore we consider this a gender-neutral term.