SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — After her own struggles with her son, a Wisconsin woman has dedicated her career to helping families with breastfeeding and chestfeeding.
Lori Theisen is a registered nurse and international board certified lactation consultant. She runs a weekly breastfeeding support group at Haumea Sun Prairie.
She started her journey after having feeding issues with her own son. He had jaundice and was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
“When he was discharged, they came to my home. I had different doctors and nurses and lactation consultants telling me something different, and it was very frustrating,” Theisen said. “That’s every family’s experience — all these different people are saying different things. I knew that there had to be a science behind this madness.”
A self-described science nerd, she then began an ambitious path.
“I studied lactation, and did nursing school together at the same time,” she said. “To help people in ways that I was helped, and to help people in ways that I wasn’t helped.”
Theisen works to make people feel comfortable, accepted and understood as they navigate life with their new member of the family. That’s especially true in those first few weeks and months, as new parents attempt to do their best.
There can sometimes be a lot of pressure to breastfeed, and pressure to exclusively breastfeed. Theisen said every day may look different, and that’s okay.
“There’s so much insecurity,” she said. “I think the big thing is that there’s so many books, and blogs and social media presence that say ‘you have to do ABC,’ when the truth is no, you don’t. You have to focus on your baby. Follow your baby’s cues and trust your instincts and stop with the like all the other crap out there.”
She wrote a book called “This Book Sucks: Feeding Your Baby Shouldn’t,” illustrated by her friend Ashley Bradley.
That’s why Theisen does this work. She aims to focus on the science, supporting parents and encouraging them to do what’s best for their family.
“I just love helping people,” she said. “Sometimes we just need that validation that feeding your baby can be hard, and you’re doing great.”