Bay Area Breastfeeding Support

Serena is so amazing! She brings with her such peace of mind and solutions for healing. I had mastitis but didn’t fully know what I had or what to do and she came to my house and helped heal my intense pain and perfect my baby’s latch. She has a passion for her job and makes you feel genuinely cared for and heard. If you have any nursing problem do not hesitate to call her! She is a saving grace

Serena is THE. BEST. She is unique in that she meets clients where they are — physically, emotionally and with evidence-​based information and education. She knows all the stuff, but never makes families feel inadequate or like they’ve screwed up. I’ve experienced this on both a personal and professional level.
I first met Serena when I was struggling with nursing my second child. After receiving mixed messages and sub-​par hospital-​based support, I called in the big guns. I was SO challenged nursing my firstborn, that I was determined to be successful with my second child. Serena came to my house on Christmas eve, eve… yes, two days before Christmas offering patient and gentle support for a struggling second-​time mom, who was also managing a rambunctious two-​year-​old. Not only did she immediately diagnose the problem (upper lip tie) with my newborn, but she discovered that my two-​year-​old also had that same problem. To my knowledge, the hospital staff never checked for this with either child. I had spent two years thinking I did something wrong — when in fact, my child (ren) had an oral challenge that needed to be corrected before I could successfully nurse them. If only I had found her with my firstborn, it would have saved me a lot of heartache. I went on to successfully nurse my second child for nearly two years, through multiple medical issues… with her support by my side all along.
I also work as a professional Birth Doula. I nearly exclusively refer my clients to her, because she’s THAT GOOD!!! I have had every single client tell me what a godsend she is to them and that she’s worth every penny. For what my clients pay for a personalized home visit/​plan, they would pay more in a month in formula.
I have had the privilege of watching her work her magic in person. Her intuitive nature is unlike any I’ve seen with other lactation professionals. Once you’re «in» with Serena, you are added to her vast knowledge-​base of breastfeeding technical factual science-​y stuff, but you are also connected with hundreds of other mothers who also continue to support you through you’re breastfeeding journey. She creates a beautiful lactation community by running both in-​person and online support groups that have proven to be invaluable to both me and my clients.
Bottom line: If you are sitting on the fence about which lactation consultant to call and whether you want to spend the money, you can stop now. You’ve found her. She’s worth it… and so are you and your baby.

I am not sure where I would be in my nursing career without Serena! What an amazing support system «BABS» has been for me. With my first born I did have an excellent lactation consultant, but boy did I know how much **more** excellent one can be. Serena’s cool and calm approach are so reassuring to a mother during what can be a very stressful time. She is very accessible and her prompt responses are so helpful.
There have been many of times I have called her in a panic, only to get off the phone feeling 1000 times better. I cannot stress enough how highly I would recommend her services.

I highly recommend Serena Meyer for breastfeeding support. I was touched by her generosity of time and spirit. She listened empathetically, shared clear and effective tips, and helped me better understand the challenges that I’ve been struggling with (and how to take steps to begin alleviating them). After just one in-​home visit, I feel so much more empowered and competent at reading my baby’s cues. Thank you, Serena!
UPDATE 8-​Jan-​16: Serena has continued to provide me help and support over these past months on a variety of breastfeeding-​related issues. I’m so happy I found her!

Ditto to wishing I had met Serena earlier! Strong, caring «pope» of a community of lactating mothers in the Bay Area. I’ve always preferred my deliveries med-​free so I can be lucid and more in control of the situation/​outcome. Loved everything natural… until that lactation part came. Saying I hated breast-​feeding is an understatement :)
But being well aware of the medical research showing its benefits, I was torn. Should I go on?
And then, I found Serena. Thanks to clear pointers, ongoing support and an understanding that only stems from experience, Serena gave me the hand I needed to make it through.
I am now a working mother who successfully breast-​fed for 1 year– and the outcome would’ve been clearly different had it not been for Serena. Rock on.

I was recommended to contact Serena after joining the Bay Area Breastfeeding Support group on Facebook as my daughter wasn’t gaining weight. She was extremely nice and very helpful. We spoke via text and Facebook before she set up an appointment to drive to my house. She was very thorough in all the questions she asked. She showed me new techniques in getting my daughter to feed better and longer. It’s been 3 days since meeting with her and my daughter is already up 5oz. I’m able to text her at any time with any questions and she always texts back. I was so close to giving up on breast feeding but thanks to Serena, I’m still at it!

Serena is amazing! At first I was hesitant to have a stranger help me with breastfeeding. It seemed foreign having someone come help, but when she came she was warm, funny, non judgmental, it was comfortable instead of forced like I thought it would be. My daughter’s doctor was pushing formula when she wasn’t back to her birth weight by ten days old. She diagnosed her tongue tie (the hospital supposable clipped but the pain never got better) and showed me how to latch her to help lessen the pain and get her enough milk still. Definitely recommend her she’s a miracle worker.

I WISH … I wish. I had met Serena much earlier. I saw her when my baby was 3 months old.
The issue I was facing was with bottle feeding. and Serena’s solution helped us make a lot of progress. But the most important thing that happened to me was meeting her. a pleasant person. boosting confidence in new parents. absolutely honest and supporting.
Her group on Facebook was something I wishhh, I had a chance to be part of earlier when my baby was born and I was so confused as a new mom.
Her website and write-​up is clear, concise, quick to read and grasp. unlike the loads and loads of information on internet which new moms do not have time to read and assimilate.
Thumbs up to you Serena. I am so glad I found you…

Serena has been a God send. I am a first time mom, and because of Serena breastfeeding has been an incredibly enjoyable journey for me and my now-​3 month old. On my second day home from the hospital, Serena came over to check in (breastfeeding was going fine, but I was not confident), and she helped me create a detailed plan to help with my over supply issues. When I had questions in the following weeks, she’d immediately text back — each time helping me relax and know that everything was continuing to go well! At some point my baby started having issues on one side — Serena came over the day I texted her and fixed everything in a couple hours. I cannot say enough good things — every mother embarking on a breastfeeding journey should have Serena (or someone as wonderful) on call for support.

Serena is nothing short of amazing! My husband found her here on Unilocal though her amazing reviews, as I was having a particularly difficult moment in my breastfeeding journey with our then 1 month old. From our first phone call she made me feel at ease and confident enough to continue through the challenges I was facing and gave me useful tips to increase my milk supply before our meeting a few days later. During our in-​home visit, she listened to my entire story and taught me more than I had learned with the previous 4 lactation consultants I had dealt with, countless YouTube videos and google searches combined. Our visit together was a game-​changer as the knowledge and confidence she helped me acquire were everything I needed to move forward with breastfeeding my daughter. Serena still checks on me from time to time and just recently provided me with useful information to help me as I adjust going back to work soon. I will continue to recommend Serena to all the mothers-​to-​be I come across! Thank you, Serena!

Serena provides top of the line support for new parents in one of the most emotional, mentally and physically exhausting times of their lives. As a fellow doula, I have recommended Serena for several of my clients when they found themselves in need of immediate, top quality support. My clients have been in awe of her services, and appreciated that she works on a sliding scale, when necessary. If you have a baby in the East Bay, Serena is your #1 breastfeeding resource. So worth the call!

Serena is quite possibly the most knowledgeable, personable, kind, and gentle Lactation Consultant I have ever met. She came to my house the day I called, within half an hour! I was having pain while feeding and I just couldn’t take it anymore, but I couldn’t afford her full fee. She told me not to let her fee stand in the way of getting help with breastfeeding, and offered to let us pay a sliding scale fee.
Within just a few minutes of being at my home, she diagnosed my daughter with a posterior tongue tie and lip tie. The LC at Kaiser handed me a nipple shield and told me to wait til my daughter’s mouth grew to not be in pain anymore. Serena never wrote off how I was feeling like that. She listened as I cried, and was invested in helping my nursing relationship with my daughter. She recommended a local pediatric dentist who specializes in tongue tie revisions, and helped us make the arrangements to get an appointment with him.
Not only that, but she was worried about how we would make it the next few days before the appt with the dentist. She suggested new positions I hadn’t thought of (using gravity to help encourage baby’s tongue to come forward and variations on the football hold). When we visited the dentist, I told him how my nipples had healed in the few days since Serena had come to my house because of changing positions, and he was so thankful to hear her ideas on breastfeeding positions. Serena is very well known in the office as a superb LC.
She typed up a detailed lactation care plan, and followed up with me several times over the next few days. I went from dreading each feeding to having nursing feel natural, all within a few days, and healing was very fast. Having dealt with other LCs in the past, I feel very fortunate to have met someone with such empathy and skill.

I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl a month ago and was so excited to begin our breastfeeding journey together. I spent two days at the hospital and I found myself having a bit of trouble getting her to latch properly. The lactation specialist was sent to my room and she told me that everything would get better with practice and from there I was discharged.
Fast forward a week and I’m in extreme pain! I’m talkin’ swollen, bleeding nipples. I’d cry as I fed my baby and she has an insatiable appetite. My doula stopped by to check on me because I was breaking down and feeling like a failure. She recommended that I speak with Serena and sent her a message on my behalf. Serena was kind enough to meet with me the very next day for which I was extremely grateful!
Serena was very thorough. She spent time with us to make sure that she didn’t miss anything. She was also very easy to relate to and has a great sense of humor which made our visit seem more like a concerned friend stopping by rather than a stuffy strange. Before leaving she identified two lip ties and one tongue tie, which had somehow been missed by the lactation specialist and my daughter’s pediatrician. She referred me to an AMAZING dentist who was able to remove them by laser the very next day. She also gave me a nipple shield to use until my nipples healed which really helped.
My daughter is a month old now and we are definitely enjoying our breastfeeding journey thanks to Serena. I honestly don’t think we would have made it this far without her. She’s our angel.

I keep tearing up as I sit down to write this. Serena has quite literally been a god send. She is knowledgable, personable, no nonsense, and the most encouraging healthcare professional I have worked with.
Breastfeeding is something our culture does a horrible job of talking and educating each other about. We knew we wanted to because of the numerous health benefits that are correlated. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as just doing it. We tried working with multiple lactation consultants before we found Serena. None of the experiences were remotely positive and I was ready to give up.
From the beginning, Serena took us seriously as patients. She asked questions and genuinely listened to every piece of our experience. She made time for a home visit within two days and was able to help us set up a plan to meet our breastfeeding goals. It is still a work in process but Serena is available over text and on the phone and has even offered to come by for another visit if needed.
I honestly cannot recommend anyone else for lactation support and I’ve made sure that every prospective mama I know has Serena’s number saved.

My co-​worker referred me to Serena because I was worried about my milk supply being low. I’m only able to pump out about 2.5 on average which was ok when my baby was a newborn, but she’s hitting 4 months and her appetite is growing so I’ve had to supplement her with more formula. Serena was amazing! She was so helpful and knowledgeable. She pretty much got to the root of my problem and even helped my baby get a better latch. Being a first time mom, I had a lot of questions which she knew all the answers to and cleared up any misunderstandings I had with breastfeeding. I’m so glad I met Serena and would definitely recommend her to anyone having breastfeeding problems. She’s also super friendly and personable. Thank you for all your help Serena! I learned a lot!

She went above and beyond when we were panicking about our son losing too much weight but not wanting to introduce formula and bottles at less than 2 weeks. She diagnosed his posterior tongue tie (which two other pediatricians and a hospital lactation consultant missed after we specifically asked since tongue tie runs in my husband’s family) and showed us how to get him enough milk anyway. She also recommend Dr. Yazdi for a second opinion and to treat it if we wanted. Thanks to her he finally started to gain weight.
Before Serena was hell, after was insanely hard but possible and after the procedure to fix the tongue tie it was merely the expected level of difficulty of dealing with a newborn. If she hadn’t found his tongue tie it might not have been diagnosed until it was causing more problems down the road and would have been much harder to fix.
We did one more follow up to go over teaching him to use his tongue the right way and reassuring us that things were on track.
Definitely give her a call if you’re struggling with breastfeeding!

Serena is amazing. I don’t really know what I can add to the other reviews. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did not have major issues with breastfeeding, but I did end up with a very painful issue on one side, and Serena helped immensely with that. She is not only extremely knowledgeable, but she is very personable, and will go out of her way to help you as soon as possible, and to continue helping as much as you need. Her support group on Facebook has also taught me so much about breastfeeding, but the in person help is really invaluable.
Thanks Serena!

Serena pretty much saved my breast feeding relationship. We had a very rocky start and got really horrible advice in the hospital. T here was a point where I thought that we were doomed but then I found serena. She Spent several hours in my home assessing my baby and myself and giving us excellent advice and a much needed morale boost. She also continued to provide support and assistance over email and text message for as long as I needed it. I really admire the fact that Serena is so dedicated to helping breastfeeding mothers. She even created a support group that meets in person and also online that I have found to be remarkably helpful as I navigate the world of new motherhood. I would highly recommend Serena to any mother who needed breastfeeding support. She is a godsend!

I can’t say enough positive things about Serena! She came to our apartment a few days after we brought our baby home from the hospital and started having latching issues. She stayed for 2 hours observing how we were nursing and helping to modify what we were doing in order to have a more effective latch. I was also having supply issues, so she helped coach me on what to do to increase my supply. After our session she offered continued support via text and email to make sure that things were going well. While things improved drastically right away, I still had a few issues that we were working through, and so we had her come back 2 more times over the first month, and again, each time she stayed for almost 2 hours and was extremely helpful. The fact that she’s an RN was also really comforting to me as we were able to talk about general newborn health things as she was observing me nurse (all the new mom questions like «is this normal, is that normal, etc???»)
Serena’s professional, knowledgeable and made me feel very comfortable during our time together. I would 100% recommend working with Serena whether you’re having significant issues breastfeeding or just need some reassurance that everything is okay.

What can I say about Serena that hasn’t already been said? Nothing! She’s seriously your breastfeeding best friend!
Serena has been an angel to us during a very difficult nursing relationship with my newborn. Tongue tie, lip tie, allergies, thrush– she has helped us through it all and I know I wouldn’t still be nursing without her constant support. She is a registered nurse and IBCLC, and had an extensive base of knowledge that made us more aware of why we were facing certain challenges, and also explained clearly what we could do about them.
She empowers women to make the best decisions for their family, without judgement. Finding an LC who doesn’t make snarky comments about not cosleeping or using bottles has been impossible and Serena was supportive within our context and framework. The last thing I needed was more guilt and that’s one thing she doesn’t pile on!
Serena is a lactation angel! If you’re on the fence, like me and nervous about more judgement and no answers, please be assured you’ll never regret calling Serena.