MercyOne Des Moines Lactation Consultants

For mothers who deliver at MercyOne and have decided to breastfeed their baby, lactation and breastfeeding support is available for you following your baby’s birth. For some mothers, breastfeeding is exclusively nursing, but for others it is a mixture of using a breast pump and nursing. Additionally, exclusive breast pumping is an option to provide your baby with breast milk.

Our nurses are trained to provide exceptional guidance and support for new moms and babies. MercyOne Mother-Baby nurses receive annual breastfeeding education, and new nurses receive eight hours of lactation education provided by a lactation consultant.

However, some mothers and babies may need a little extra assistance learning how to breastfeed. For these special circumstances, MercyOne has International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) and Lactation Counselors available during your hospital stay to help you. The lactation staff is specially trained to manage your lactation needs, including assisting with latch, operating your breast pump, breastfeeding with challenging circumstances or initiating a milk supply for a baby in our NICU. We are here to help you.

Prenatal education

During your second or third trimester, we encourage you to attend our Breastfeeding Essentials class.  Partners are welcome and encouraged to come. For more information and registration, view our events page or call 515-643-MOMS.

Breastfeeding Essentials will teach you the benefits of breastfeeding your baby, how to latch baby to breast, different positions to feed baby in and more. Pumping Essentials will discuss how and where to get a breast pump, how to use it to benefit your specific situation, storage guidelines and many more useful topics.

Preparing to Breastfeed

We encourage you to get your breast pump before you deliver and bring it with you during your hospital stay. We can assist in showing you how to operate your pump and fitting you for the correct flange size to ensure comfort and maximum milk transfer during pump operation.

To learn more about buying or renting a breast pump through our pharmacy with your insurance, please call 515-643-4229.

During your stay

We encourage new moms to do skin-to-skin after delivery and attempt to feed within the first 1-2 hours after birth. Placing baby skin-to-skin will encourage feeding, help with milk supply and promote bonding during your stay.

It is our goal to see each patient that would like to visit with a lactation consultant. If you did not obtain a breast pump prior to delivery, our lactation consultants can provide one for you during your stay.

After you discharge

Once you return home from delivering your baby, you may find that more help with breastfeeding or pumping is needed. Outpatient lactation consultations are available and billed through insurance. These visits are a private one-on-one session with a certified lactation consultant. To schedule an appointment, please call MercyOne Lactation Services and leave a voicemail at 515-358-2082.

Mommy & Me Breastfeeding Support Group is a support group where moms and babies can come and get assistance from our lactation staff. It is held the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center from 1 to 2 p.m. on Level 2. Please follow the signs upon arrival. No registration is necessary.

Breast pump rentals are available on a weekly or monthly basis from MercyOne Lactation Services for $15/week. To check availability, please call 515-358-2082.

Mother's Milk Bank of Iowa Collection Site

Decades of research have established that human milk is the perfect food for infants. The Mother's Milk Bank of Iowa –a program of the University of Iowa Children's Hospital–collects, stores, and distributes human milk to those who need it. MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center is proud to be a collection location in central Iowa. Women interested in becoming a human milk donor should contact The Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa at (877) 891-5347. 
Donors already approved by the Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa may deliver donations between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. to:
Level 3, East Tower 
MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center 
1111 6th Ave., Des Moines, Iowa 50314