Nursing Mothers Counsel

I had a really hard time breastfeeding because of my baby’s shallow latch. I got the contact of NMC from a friend and reached out to Tine for help. Tine was incredibly supportive and knowledgeable. She kept in touch and answers all my questions patiently. She came home and showed me different breastfeeding positions and tongue exercise for my baby. I am so grateful for NMC and Tine for all the support.

Marta was so helpful! She came to my house and gave me great advice and tips. Her expertise really helped me feed my baby more comfortably. I’m so thankful for this free service! Thanks again!

My daughter got used to bottle by the time we discharged from hospital. I have gone through 3 months of pumping and feeding. One day i was looking desperately for help since my nipples started to hurt a lot and my supply fell down. I was looking for someone to take a look at my pumping and tell me whats wrong. Every lactation counselor gave me appointments after few days. I reached out to NMC and was able to speak with Andrea in the next one hour. It was amazing, she was patient heard my problems and provided me emotional support along with advise on what can be done. She gave me her mobile number so i can reach her anytime. She even responds to my texts and helps me late hours.
What surprises me is they are doing it for free, where other professionals are charging hundreds of dollars with limted time and response .This is how a for women organization must be. Breastfeeding support is every mothers need since this is a skill that need to be learn with lot patience. It is very challenging for a mom in the postpartum period. I am glad i came across this great organization

I was in tears a few weeks after my first son was born because I had so many questions about breastfeeding. The hospital gave me the contact information for Nursing Mothers' Council upon discharge so I gave them a call. My questions were answered by a very sweet, helpful lady. She even followed up with an email with a video for me to watch. A few weeks later I had another question and emailed her to receive another quick response. This organization is very kind, helpful and responsive. I'm very thankful that this organization exists for mothers, especially as a first time mom.

I was having a very hard time with breastfeeding and was concerned that my daughter wasn't gaining weight appropriately. I weighed her on a Friday afternoon and confirmed my suspicions that there was a weight gain issue. I was in a panicked state, unable to contact other resources I had been relying on, and knew that the next time I could have an in-person consult was on Monday afternoon. NMC was available when I needed to talk to someone and they provided great advice to calm me down and get me through the weekend. Such a great resource and much needed for those fragile first weeks when breastfeeding challenges seem to never end!

Breastfeeding can be such a challenge and a troubling time for a new mom. NMC's volunteers are a great educated resource.

Breastfeeding was so hard and painful for me. I was thankful to have someone from the NMC come to my house for FREE and help me! Such a great resource!

It was an excellent resource when I needed. Great tips and kind advice from very nice , respectful and empathetic personal.

I took a breastfeeding class through NMC a week before my daughter was born. Out of all the preparation I did before she was born, this was the most valuable. And I also was able to sign up to have a counselor contact me after she was born. It was amazing to have someone to contact after I actually had my daughter and was actually struggling with breastfeeding. And all of this was free to me! NMC is beyond incredible.

The NMC breastfeeding class was the BEST. It was honest, simple, answered all our questions and concerns. I felt fairly prepared when our son arrived. Once he was here my counselor was available to answer questions as problems arose. I'm fairly certain I wouldn't have made it out of the first month without my counselors support. I was able to not only meet my goal of not needing formula while working full time, but was also able to let my son self wean. I recommend the NMC to anyone who tells me they're thinking of breastfeeding. Oh and they offer their services for FREE!

My first experience with NMC was in 1994, when I had my first daughter. I had attended a class at a local hospital before I gave birth. Once I was home with baby I was having a hard time adjusting to this new life and breastfeeding. I called NMC and was given a counselor. I must have called her everyday for a week or more. She was great and very patient with me. I stuck with it and everything went well. A few years later after my 2nd daughter was born, again I was in need of help. My baby wasn't gain weight and had sucking issues. I actually needed more help this time than the first. I was so thankful for the help I received through NMC that I too wanted to give back. I attended the training classes and became a NMC Couselor. I was able to help some new mothers get through those first few weeks and even doing a few home visits. It's been 15+ yrs since I volunteered with NMC but, to this day I still love to lend a hand to a new mommy with questions and concerns about her breastfeeding baby.

I first heard about the Nursing Mothers Counsel through my daughter's pediatric doctor. As it is the case with many first-time mothers, I had various questions I wanted to ask about breastfeeding, but could not afford to hire private help. I then decided to contact a Nursing Mothers Counsel representative. That is when I met Gretchen Kindberg. She came to our house to watch me as I breastfed our little daughter, to make sure that the baby was latching correctly. Gretchen is a lovely, very knowledgeable, sweet, and approachable young lady. A mother herself, she put me at ease right away, reassuring me throughout her visit that I was doing everything correctly and that my daughter was latching beautifully. Gretchen talked to my husband and me for about a couple of hours. During this time she answered all of our questions, addressed our concerns and gave us numerous precious hints and advice. I highly recommend her as well as the Nursing Mothers Counsel. We were really impressed with Gretchen's professionalism, enthusiasm, experience and knowledge.

I attended a Nursing Mothers Counsel breastfeeding class after I had my first baby (now 23 months old). The class was helpful, but the e-mail communication after the class between Gretchen, one of the volunteers, and I was superb. She was honest, caring and gave real examples rather than cookie cutter responses that I received from other organizations. She even followed up to see how I was doing awhile after our last conversation.

Took the FREE breastfeeding class which was offered. Was provided with lot of helpful information which was offered in multiple languages. As far as I know, there are no other organization offering this class for free. The class was great, but the class wasn't what makes this organization so wonderful. It's the counselors which they assign to you to follow up with your nursing. These counselors are volunteers with much experience and are available if you have any questions or concerns at any time. Their availability is far greater than any other organization, such as the ones tied to hospitals. Being first time parents, we had many concerns (such as what cold medicine is ok while breastfeeding or is the baby getting enough milk). We called the counselor who gave great advice and calmed us down. After giving any advice, the counselor always gave follow up calls to see how we're doing. The counselor REALLY helped us through the first couple months of breastfeeding. Not only did they address all our questions and concerns but the emotional support they gave was a HUGE help. The counselor helped not only the mother but the father also.

This is an extremely dedicated group of women who are passionate about helping other mothers learn to breastfeed and deal with any challenges that come up. I've loved my volunteer work with this organization and am especially inspired watching new mamas come into their own and become confident mothers.

Nursing Mothers Counsel is ostensibly a local bay area group which provided one-on-one peer support for new mothers learning to breastfeed successfully. It's such a great group (and has been for over 50 years) that their phone number got published in a major baby care boom which led them to receive calls from all over the country. They accepted this and took in stride the fact that they suddenly needed to serve a large multiple of their former number of clients.

When my second baby was born, even though I had breastfed my first for two years, and even though I'm a women's health nurse practitioner, I needed a lot of help. My new baby was premature, jaundiced, in the NICU on IV antibiotics, scheduled for two spinal taps, having special heart and hearing tests done, and not allowed to nurse. It was a horrible experience which made me realize what a vital function breastfeeding counselors serve in modern society. The women at N.M.C. are warm, educated, and caring.

These volunteers helped me so much in the early days as a new parent. They were so kind. They reached out to me before my baby was born.
I asked questions and volunteers got right back to me with tips, advice encouragement and support.

I am a first time Mother and I registered for a free breastfeeding class with NMC. The lecture itself was fantastic with a great video and pictures and a very experienced lecturer.
After my baby was born, I initially had a little problem breastfeeding--Some women might describe this as a good problem to have--too much milk!
I called NMC volunteer and was connected to an absolutely wonderful and astute mother who recognized that part of my nervousness was from being a tired new mom just grappling with her new role . . . she gave me excellent tips for breastfeeding but also made me feel okay about being nervous/frustrated at times and within 2 weeks I found myself totally turned around and didn't have any problems with breastfeeding. She also gave me an excellent idea of donating excess milk to preemies. I would highly recommend every new mom to join NMC and I myself am looking forward to becoming a volunteer.

Nursing Mothers Counsel (NMC) is a great group. The members in the group are very nice and helpful. Their goal is to help nursing mothers. I am one of the moms who needs help in nursing. I have been having issues with nursing my baby and desperately looking for help until I found Nursing Mothers Counsel that I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I was referred to a lactation nurse to further assist me. Nursing Mothers Counsel gives me support and encouragement so I can continue to nurse. Please include Nursing Mothers Counsel as part of the 2011 Women's Empowerment Campaign and include Nursing Mothers Counsel on theTop-Rated Women's Nonprofits List for 2011.

The lactation consultants at nursing mothers counsel helped me so much. I was a new mom, emotional and my baby was not nursing well. the first call was so supportive and Leslie basically told me it was ok, i was going to be ok and that I was doing a fantastic job. i really needed to hear that at the time. my husband was back to work and I was a mess. Then I got weekly phone calls from another volunteer that helped turned my troubles into successful nursing. It was amazing what over the phone coaching could do to help. And all of this was free. my volunteer een offered to come to my house. Other lactation consultant services were well over $100. I am very grateful to the volunteers at nursing mothers counci.

I was a nervous first time mom last year. I wanted to give my baby the best he can have so I decided to at least breast feed for six months. It was a lot of work and I ran into various questions/issues during the 7 months I gave my baby breast milk.

The volunteers at Nursing Mothers are amazingly helpful. Initially I wouldn't believe they are simply volunteers because I got their DIRECT phone number and can give them a call anytime I want. They'd encourage me to continue nursing and help me with any questions I might have. Such amazing support and consultation.

I wouldn't being able to do this alone without the help from those amazing volunteers. I really thank them for their time and effort.

NMC has helped me succeed in breastfeeding my daughter in every way possible! Every time I stuggled or a new challenge arose, they were there to provide the support and guidance I needed! I love the fact that all of their members are volunteers with prior breastfeeding experience.

I have been a volunteer with Nursing Mothers Counsel since 1987 and have served as a board member for quite a number of years.

Nursing Mothers Counsel (NMC) is a non-profit organization that has been providing free breastfeeding education and support to new moms since 1955. NMC's mission has remained the same since it was founded--to provide one-on-one breastfeeding support to new moms, mainly through phone counseling, by highly trained volunteer counselors (who have breastfed), to enable moms to have a successful breastfeeding experience. Free home visits may be provided if a mom is in our counselor's geographical area.

Over the past 56 years, NMC counselors have have helped tens of thousands of moms!

Both the San Francisco Bay Area and Santa Cruz Chapters of NMC provide free breastfeeding classes.

The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter has breast pumps and products available for sale and breast pumps available for rent. Grant pumps are available for families who cannot afford to pay the full rate or are unable to pay anything.

Moms can call our referral lines to speak with counselors for free breastfeeding assistance, especially when support is critically needed by calling:
S.F. Bay Area Chapter: 650-327-MILK (6455)
Santa Cruz Chapter: 831-688-3954

We have a history in our communities and are a highly respected organization.

Nursing Mother's Counsel was a great find. They provided a free class and counselors to help me through my breastfeeding experience. The class was very helpful and provided me the introduction I needed to prepare myself. Not only that, I had two counselors on call of whom I used to ask questions about latching, pain, and pumping. They were very helpful and put me to ease.

I went to a free very helpful breastfeeding class before my son was born. While the amount of information was somewhat overwhelming, I definitely felt prepared to breastfeed after he was born. The volunteer assigned to me calls or emails every few days to check in and she has provided some useful advice and hints.

Finding out about the Nursing Mothers Counsel was like finding a treasure for me. I attended a free breastfeeding class and signed up for a free counselor. Little did I know that Allyson, my counselor, would become my savior and cheerleader for over a year and then again after my second birth. Allyson helped me immensely by providing guidance, advice, help with breastfeeding-related issues, and the inspiration/cheerleading to help me get through over a year of breastfeeding. I never thought I would nurse my child that long and without the help of NMC, I know I wouldn't have been able to make it through. This is a great non-profit org and I recommend it highly to all breastfeeding moms.

I was introduced to the Nursing Mothers Counsel during a breastfeeding class at Kaiser. During the class, the instructor passed around a sign up sheet, stating that anyone who signed it would be contacted by a member from the counsel after we delivered our babies, to see if we needed help with breastfeeding. Luckily for my baby and I, we signed up, and after my son was born, we got a phone call from a Nursing Mothers Counsel member, Jennifer, who became our savior. We had several issues with my baby: he was born a very healthy 8.7, but continued to lose wait. He had jaundice and terrible stomach pain. Jennifer coached us through all of these challenges, even giving us her phone number, which we used often, sometimes even late at night. We would've been lost without her, and surely would have given up breastfeeding had she not helped us through it all. My son's almost 6 months old now, healthy as they come, and still happily breastfeeding.

My husband and I found the free breastfeeding class very helpful. Being in a forum with other soon-to-be parents, and hearing their questions and concerns helped us realize that we weren't the only ones who needed advice. We walked away from the class feeling much more confident, and feel that the class has greatly contributed to our trouble-free breastfeeding experience with our daughter. My husband felt empowered, because the class specifically addressed bottle-feeding of expressed milk by fathers - when to introduce the bottle, and how to hold the bottle. This has helped him bond with our daughter.

The class offered is very informative and the contents were delivered in a very organized manner. It's amazing that they are able to offer this class and all the follow up consultations for free. I am very impressed with their work and would highly recommend them to anyone who would like to learn about breastfeeding.

I was very fortunate to attend the class provided by the Nursing Mothers Council and to receive support from a peer counselor after my baby was born. Breastfeeding was very difficult for me intially and I felt incredibly supported by my peer counselor. It was wonderful to have someone to talk to when I was having a tough time and she gave me great advice. I didn't expect to have such difficulties with breastfeeding and didn't expect that this would be such a useful resource but I was very pleasantly surprised and would recommend them to any other expecting moms.

My husband and I attended a free breast-feeding class from the NMC, and we both found it very informative and useful. A volunteer contacted me periodically afterwards, which was great, especially since I'm bad about getting around to asking for help when I'm having problem's. The volunteer was super-supportive and had very good and knowledgeable tips/information. Overall I had a great experience with NMC, it would have been a much more difficult experience without them!

This organization was a wonderful resource and had a great impact on me and my baby girl. I was unable to attend a breastfeeding class as my baby arrived early, but it didn't matter because the counseling advice I received from two of the NMC volunteers was exempelory. They made themselves available for me, answered my many questions from a position of knowledge and offered reassurance that I could successfully breastfeed my baby. Four months later, I ran into a bit of difficulty and my NMC coach was right there with her support and successfully guided me in the right direction once again. I have been delighted and impressed with the quality of this organization and the service they offer to new mothers.

I attended a breastfeeding class by the NMC without any expectations. The class was run very well and I was extremely impressed with the depth of content and broad coverage on such a topic. I would strongly recommend the NMC and taking advantage of any classes they offer!

I am currently nursing my 8 month old daughter (my first child) and NMC was there for me. All of my incessant questions were thoroughly answered. I only wish I had a chance to meet my counselor in person to thank her for all the help she provided during my first few months of nursing at home and then again upon my return to work. My nursing woes were definitely alleviated and I cannot thank NMC enough. Keep up the great work. I hope everyone has a chance to work with NMC!!! =)

I came to nursing mothers counsel before my 2nd child was born, I had nursed my first child but had some common problems . So when I got pregnat with my 2nd child I didn't want to make the same mistakes, I wanted to be better informed. I had a great phone coneslor. So after nursing my 2nd child for 6 months I decided to give back , by taking the classes to become a phone conselor myself , So I could help other mothers. Over the course of 16 years I counseled many mothers all over the United States. This is a great orgaization. And it helps so many new mothers nurse their babies. Candi