Michelle Hinojosa was so thankful to give birth to her third child at Mercy Health—Springfield Regional Medical Center. She is also thankful for the help she received afterward from Julie Ayres, one of our certified lactation consultants.
“I actually knew Julie because she goes to the same church as me,” Michelle says. “She was someone we really trusted. To have her there for support was great.”
Breastfeeding is important to Michelle because she wants to be as natural with the kids as possible.
“I knew through research how the antibodies in the breastmilk work. Everything that helps their immune system sets them up from the very beginning and that was important to us,” she shares. “We always wanted breastfeeding to be the one thing we tried the hardest to do and make it work.”
During her breastfeeding journey this time around, Michelle unfortunately developed mastitis. This is the inflammation of breast tissue that can cause an infection. Within 10 minutes, Julie was on the phone with Michelle asking her questions about what was going on. She also gave Michelle directions on what next steps should be.
“The next day I was on antibiotics and it was very helpful,” Michelle says. “My best friend and I always say Julie is like our little angel because she is always there no matter what. She is there for everything all the time no matter what.”
Michelle also had Julie over to her house multiple times to help her with latch problems. While there, Julie took a look at Michelle’s C-section scar as well because she had had one herself before.
“She was there for us when the stress of having a premature baby came up. She held my hand while I cried all the time,” Michelle shares.
Michelle advises new moms who are struggling with breastfeeding to not be afraid to get help.
“A lot of times, at the beginning, it’s surprising that automatically starting to breastfeed does not feel like a natural thing. It’s something you must learn how to do. I think it’s something you really have to get help for, really learn and make sure you have the best support. It’s also important to have best knowledge around it to be able to continue and not be miserable.”
Learn more about the lactation services and breastfeeding education we have at Mercy Health.
