Frequently Asked Questions
Do you provide in-home breastfeeding and lactation support in Charlotte, NC?
Yes. MAMA & BABE provides personalized, in-home breastfeeding, lactation, infant feeding, infant development, and maternal support throughout Charlotte, NC and surrounding communities. Care is available during pregnancy and postpartum, allowing families to receive support in the environment where feeding and daily routines actually happen. My combined OT and lactation training brings feeding, infant development, regulation, and your daily routines into one personalized plan.
What is the difference between a CLC, an IBCLC, and a lactation consultant?
“Lactation consultant” is a term commonly used when searching for breastfeeding support, but lactation professionals may have different credentials and scopes of practice. An IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) holds an international board certification in lactation, while a CLC (Certified Lactation Counselor) has completed specialized education and competency-based training in breastfeeding and human lactation.
MAMA & BABE is unique because Melissa is both a Certified Lactation Counselor and Nationally Certified and NC licensed pediatric Occupational Therapist, bringing more than 20 years of pediatric experience to feeding support. This allows care to consider not only breastfeeding and milk transfer, but also oral-motor function, positioning, sensory processing, nervous system regulation, infant development, maternal recovery, and the everyday routines surrounding feeding.
When should I get breastfeeding help?
You do not have to wait until breastfeeding is painful or feeding has become stressful to seek support. In fact, prenatal lactation education and breastfeeding preparation can help families understand what to expect during the first hours and days after birth, recognize early feeding cues, learn positioning and latch basics, and create a feeding plan before baby arrives.
After birth, breastfeeding support may be helpful for concerns including painful latch, difficulty latching, nipple pain, milk supply concerns, pumping, bottle feeding, breast refusal, slow or prolonged feeds, positioning difficulties, or simply wanting reassurance that feeding is going well.
Can you help if my baby has a tongue tie?
Yes. Feeding challenges associated with a suspected tongue tie, lip tie, or oral restriction require looking at more than anatomy alone. MAMA & BABE evaluates feeding function, including latch, oral-motor skills, tongue movement, sucking patterns, positioning, regulation, and the baby's overall feeding experience.
When appropriate, MAMA & BABE collaborates with pediatricians, IBCLCs, dentists, ENTs, speech-language pathologists, and other providers to help families determine appropriate next steps. MAMA & BABE does not diagnose or perform tongue-tie releases.
Do you help with bottle feeding and pumping, or only breastfeeding?
Absolutely. Infant feeding support is about much more than breastfeeding. MAMA & BABE supports families with breastfeeding, bottle feeding, pumping, combination feeding, bottle selection, positioning, feeding efficiency, oral-motor development, and transitioning between breast and bottle.
The goal is not to prescribe one “right” way to feed your baby, but to help you find a feeding approach that supports your baby and your family.
Can you help my breastfed baby take a bottle?
Yes. Bottle refusal is a common reason families seek infant feeding support, particularly when preparing for a parent's return to work. An assessment can look at bottle choice, nipple flow, positioning, oral-motor skills, feeding cues, sensory responses, regulation, and how your baby coordinates sucking, swallowing, and breathing.
Rather than simply trying more bottles, the goal is to understand why bottle feeding is difficult and develop an individualized plan.
Do you provide prenatal breastfeeding education?
Yes. MAMA & BABE offers prenatal breastfeeding and infant feeding preparation in Charlotte, NC for families who want to feel prepared before their baby arrives. Prenatal support can include breastfeeding expectations, latch and positioning, feeding cues, milk supply, pumping, bottle introduction, newborn behavior, feeding equipment, and creating a realistic plan for the first days and weeks postpartum.
Can you help with starting solids?
Yes. As babies approach the transition to complementary foods, occupational therapy can support the developmental skills needed for safe and successful feeding. MAMA & BABE can provide education around starting solids, readiness signs, positioning, high-chair setup, oral-motor development, sensory exploration, self-feeding, and developmentally appropriate mealtime routines.
Families should always follow their pediatrician's recommendations regarding when their individual baby is ready to begin complementary foods.
Why would an Occupational Therapist provide lactation and infant feeding support?
Feeding is one of a baby's earliest and most important daily occupations—and it is something mother and baby do together. Occupational Therapists look at how motor skills, oral-motor function, sensory processing, nervous system regulation, positioning, environment, development, routines, and caregiver well-being influence participation in everyday life.
Combining pediatric OT with lactation training allows MAMA & BABE to look beyond a single feeding and consider the whole mother-baby experience.
Does MAMA & BABE only work with newborns?
No. Support can begin during pregnancy and continue throughout early infancy, depending on your family's needs. Concerns may change from preparing for breastfeeding, latch and milk supply in the newborn period to bottle feeding, development, routines, returning to work, oral-motor development, and eventually preparing for starting solids.
What areas of Charlotte do you serve?
MAMA & BABE provides in-home lactation, infant feeding, infant development, and maternal support throughout Greater Charlotte, North Carolina, including but not limited to Ballantyne, Cornelius, Cotswold, Davidson, Dilworth, Eastover, Harrisburg, Huntersville, Marvin, Matthews, Myers Park, Plaza Midwood, SouthPark, Uptown Charlotte (within I-277), Waxhaw, and the Lake Norman area.
Families outside the designated service area are welcome to inquire. An additional travel fee may apply based on location.
Do I need to have a feeding problem to work with MAMA & BABE?
Not at all. MAMA & BABE was built around the idea that families shouldn't have to wait until something is wrong to receive support. Care can begin prenatally with breastfeeding and infant feeding preparation and continue after birth with proactive guidance around feeding, development, maternal recovery, regulation, routines, and the transition to life with a new baby.
Sometimes the most valuable support is simply knowing that a trusted professional is already waiting in the wingswhen questions arise.