About
Jacqueline
I always provide non-judgmental counseling, meeting you wherever you are.
I will work with you and your goals and your vision of the kind of parent you want to be.
I believe in you.
a lifelong passion for people and their health
Ever since I was a young child, I’ve been interested in people and their health.Not just physically but spiritually as well. Growing up, I wanted to be a pediatrician. I worked as a nanny and always loved children and babies and dreamed about some day becoming a mother.
In college at San Francisco State University I decided to major in health education and minor in holistic health. It was there where I discovered the well-known authors Christiane Northrop and Deepak Chopra, as well as my favorite by Ina May Gaskin, spiritual midwifery. I also certified as a massage therapist with a busy practice, and pursued my growing interest in metaphysics. I did astrology charts for all my friends and family—and was the first in my family to graduate from college with my Bachelor’s of Science.
After college I ended up moving to Mexico to study Spanish. It worked! I lived there for three years and am fluent in the second language I love.
my own breastfeeding journey
My love for breastfeeding began with the birth of my first child. I hoped to be able to breastfeed, since my mother wasn’t able to breastfeed me. I had planned a home birth and hoped to have a water birth, But none of my plans worked out, and I ended up having an emergency c-section for failure to progress in labor.
At the hospital, I can remember lying on the hospital bed being wheeled out of the operation room wanting my baby so badly. I couldn’t move my arms and legs after the surgery so the nurses and my mother-in-law put her to my breast for me.
Once I could hold her myself, I didn’t want to put her down! She breastfed 24/7. By day 3, I was in pain, and by day 5 my nipples were bloody. It took about 10 days before the pain got better. I was grateful to have lots of support because I really needed it! After those early struggles things did get better for me, and she breastfed until I weaned her at 2 years and 9 months.
how i became an iBCLC (International board certified lactation consultant)
Early on in my breastfeeding journey I discovered La Leche League. I loved the meetings and realized I wanted to get more involved in breastfeeding advocacy and support.
Through an organization called Nursing Mothers Counsel I took a training course to become a peer counselor in their mother-to-mother counseling program. Because I wanted to do more work with babies, I ended up working at Newborn Connections, the breastfeeding center and baby boutique at CPMC hospital in San Francisco. Then, I met Anne Garrett, a nurse and IBCLC and and amazing woman who became my mentor and ultimately my very dear friend.
compassion, experience, empathy
Not only have a seen a myriad of breastfeeding issues in my work, I also had different experiences with each of my own children. When my second child was born, she was in the NICU for two weeks causing which led to low milk supply. She had trouble latching right from the beginning and I had to use a nipple shield until she was 4 months old. I breastfed my third child with zero problems and weaned her at 3 years and 5 months. I bring empathy and understanding to each of my clients because I truly understand what it’s like to feel uncertain and worried, and how wonderful breastfeeding can be.
“After having a mastectomy for breast cancer, it was so difficult to breast feed with only one breast. Since I overproduced with my first child,
I thought I wouldn’t have a supply issue. However, my son ate so much more than my daughter and I wasn’t able to keep up. I was pumping all the time and obsessing over his weight. In the midst of this very difficult time, I reached to Jacqueline by phone. Her knowledge, reassurance and support helped me to continue breastfeeding until he was over one year old. I ended up supplementing at 3 months but Jacqueline reassured me that he was still getting all the benefits of breastfeeding. Jacqueline was always available for me and she felt like a close friend even though we never met in person. She has a wonderful personality with so much patience and positivity. I am forever grateful for the love she has shown me as a lactation consultant.”
