Samantha Blair is one of the many moms in the Springfield, OH community who is grateful she had the opportunity to work with nurse Julie after she delivered. Julie Ayres, RNC, IBCLC, is a certified lactation consultant with Mercy Health — Springfield Regional Medical Center.
“I’ve known Julie for a while, and she is actually a family friend,” Samantha reveals. “She helped me a lot in the hospital, checking in on us and making sure we were doing OK. She gave me her cell phone number and I was able to text as well as call her during different times with both of my babies after we left the hospital.”
Going into motherhood, breastfeeding was important for Samantha.
“I knew I wanted to try breastfeeding with my first child, so I set a goal of doing it for three months. After we made it that far, we went on to six months and nine months and made it to a year,” Samantha says.
However, Samantha did find she needed some support to keep going.
“With my first child, I got sick in the hospital, so I had to pump some and bottle feed him, which caused some latch issues and made breastfeeding very painful,” Samantha shares. “Julie prescribed an ointment and provided me with some changes to make which helped immensely.”
With her second child, Samantha knew what to expect. However, since all babies are different, Samantha was grateful for the help and guidance when she found out her new baby had a tongue tie and a lip tie, making breastfeeding difficult.
“Julie was able to refer me to a pediatric dentist so we could get that all taken care of. It made things much easier for me,” Samantha says.
Julie loves building relationships with her patients. Being able to see returning mothers succeed in breastfeeding is something that excites Julie.
“It’s my calling,” Julie shares. “When I had babies, this type of help didn’t exist. I’m so glad that I get to share in the benefits of helping mothers. The biggest reward of the job is seeing the success of helping mothers connect with their babies by breastfeeding, amongst other bonding that happens during this time.”
For Samantha, the support she received was what helped her continue to breastfeed. She recommends seeking support for any new mom if they need it.
“Find some support. Whether that’s a friend, or a lactation consultant. Most of the time if you are having a problem, it’s typically easy to solve. But as new moms, a lot of the time we stress out about that stuff.”
Learn more about the lactation services and breastfeeding education we offer at Mercy Health.
