Breastfeeding Foundations

Who is this class for?

Pregnant people and their birth partners who have questions about breastfeeding! As soon as your questions arise, you’re more than welcome to join this session. The sooner, the better! Please try and join before 37 weeks. 

What to expect? 

• Useful and evidence based information about breastfeeding- beyond just the basics. 
• The opportunity to practice breastfeeding positioning. 
• Clear visual examples. 
• Lots of handy tips and tricks.
• An opportunity to ask any questions! By working together in a small group, there’s plenty of time to ask everything you really want to know. 

What topics will be covered?

• How to stimulate and maintain sufficient milk supply.
• What to do and how to adjust things when you experience pain. 
• How to tell if your baby is feeding and growing well. 
• Tips to combinebreastfeeding and your working-life. 
• Tips to combine breastfeeding, pumping and/or bottle-feeding. 

What will you leave with? 

• The confidence to breastfeed your baby. 
• The ability to support your partner with breastfeeding your baby.  
• Any questions you have answered! 

What should you bring with you?

If possible, please bring your birth partner to this session. In addition, feel free to bring any pumps or breastfeeding tools you have purchased with you to ask any questions you have.  You can also feel free to bring a snack! 

About your teacher:

Hello, my name is Marloes, I'm a mother of two Olli (4) and Lou (1).

Originally from the Netherlands, I began travelling when I was 18 years old and lived in multiple countries, which was great! I did summer jobs on Corsica, volunteered in Guatemala, and met my French husband while I was working in Paris.

In 2013, we moved to Malaysia and then transferred to Singapore a year later, where we ended up staying for eight years. Passionate about brand marketing, I guided multiple companies in their rebranding and marketing strategies.

Until my world turned upside down when Olli was born in 2018.

In our breastfeeding adventure, I, unfortunately, ticked off many boxes on the list of postnatal problems and went to the hospital almost daily. I experienced bleeding nipples, thrush, latching challenges, engorgement, mastitis multiple times, and eventually a giant milk cyst with the MRSA bacteria.

It was such an unknown ground that we were unsure which specialist to reach out to, and as a consequence, I unnecessarily saw many specialists who were not breastfeeding-friendly. A lactation consultant massaged my breasts with her knuckles, an infectious specialist gave me antibiotics for months, and a breast surgeon told me to stop breastfeeding. I found out later that it could all have been avoided, which deeply saddened and traumatised me.

I had very engorged breasts for days until I met a lactation masseuse. She massaged them until they were soft and helped the milk leave my breasts. Her bodywork allowed me to shift the experience from trauma to peace.

Her profession inspired me, and I decided to follow her traditional Lactation Massage training and graduated in ITEC Holistic Massage Therapy, USUI Reiki Practice and Orthomolecular Nutrition.

As a Lactation Masseuse myself, I helped multiple families to relieve their breastfeeding challenges. However, I saw a need to make my practice more holistic and also wanted to master the more medical part of breastfeeding.

I decided to become an IBCLC Lactation Consultant and graduated as Breastfeeding Counsellor with the Breastfeeding Mother Support Group in Singapore.

Currently, I am finalising my clinical practice hours with IBCLC's Marieke van Luin and Sanne Koeman here in Amsterdam and I hope to graduate from IBLCE in 2024.

My diverse background allows me to support parents who face breastfeeding issues from multiple perspectives. I have also established a network of specialists to refer you to when needed. When I see that my clients' breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, and pumping experiences are smoother and more fun, I know I have reached my goal.

Learn more here