Lactation Services for Breastfeeding Moms

Elsa Petersson, BS, IBCLC (Billings - Family Birth Center)

Elsa has a Bachelor of Science in Health and Human Performance with a vocational background and extensive training in breastfeeding, nutrition, preventative and behavioral health and childhood feeding relationships. Prior to working at Billings Clinic Family Birth Center, she practiced as a board-certified lactation consultant for the local WIC Program.

Elsa has also been privileged to enjoy motherhood and breastfeeding with her son. Her passion for breastfeeding stems from a genuine love for moms and babies and an acknowledgment that all mothers and their babies deserve the best care and attention to support success. She strives to facilitate the best possible experience for her patients and recognizes that feeding, at the breast and otherwise, is a relationship between mother and child, not merely a means of nutrition.

Elsa's goal in practicing lactation is to always implement best practices and sound research while also exercising compassion and patient-focused care, being sensitive to the vulnerable period after birth for the mom and the baby. She has been actively involved in the local breastfeeding coalition for the last several years and has worked to collaborate with other advocates of breastfeeding in the community.

Currently, Elsa enjoys being a part of ongoing efforts to steer hospital practices that will promote, support and protect mothers' goals to breastfeed successfully.

Erica Petrusha, RN, IBCLC (Billings - Family Birth Center)

Erica is a Registered Nurse with a BSN from Montana State University, as well as, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She is married to a wonderful man and is the mother of three children, which she considers her most rewarding endeavor.

Erica has always pursued opportunities to help other mothers find the same joy and empowerment that raising children has brought to her life. As a lactation consultant she desires to give women the education, tools, and confidence to trust their bodies and their intuition. Her goal is to assist mothers in making choices that will bring about best results for their families. Erica aspires to help each woman with whom she works enjoy a peaceful, successful breastfeeding relationship with their child.

Jaime June, BS, IBCLC, CLC (Billings Clinic Bozeman)

Jaime is an international board certified Lactation consultant (IBCLC). She holds a B.S. from the University of California Davis and completed the University of California San Diego Lactation Consultant Program. After having her first child and struggling with breastfeeding and then having complications with her third child Jaime began learning and pursuing a new career in Lactation by completing her CLC (Certified lactation counselor) training. This allowed her to start hosting a breastfeeding support group weekly in Bozeman and was the stepping stone she needed to decide to pursue more in-depth lactation training leading to her board certification.

After two more children and some crazy years of studying and doing clinics Jaime passed the Boards and found herself working for Billings Clinic as well as having a private practice. Jaime specializes in mothers struggling to make the transition home with their new baby. She has experience with feeding difficulties, supply issues, adoptive parent breastfeeding, NICU transition, multiples, birth injury, infants with congenital abnormalities as well as general infant feeding.

Jaime loves most working to help mothers find a smooth transition into a life with their new child. She is excited to be developing a more Bozeman-based practice and being available to mothers in a pediatric setting.

Sara Longobardi, PA-C, IBCLC (Billings Clinic Bozeman)

Sara is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and completed the Lactation Consultant Program through the University of California, San Diego. She also holds a Master of Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Iowa. After practicing as a PA in Minneapolis, Sara chose to focus on raising her three children full-time, and she and her family moved to Bozeman in 2016.

Sara has been actively engaged in the community as a volunteer with Roots Family Collaborative and served as a board member for MAEVE Bozeman, a local nonprofit supporting mothers. Her passion for connecting with other mothers, as well as her personal experience & challenges with breastfeeding led her to seek out additional clinical training in lactation. Sara strives to provide compassionate lactation care that is personalized to each family’s unique needs and feeding goals. She has a special interest in maternal mental health and offers a space for parents to be supported and empowered on their breastfeeding journey.

Benefits of Breast Feeding

For Babies

• Reduces risk of infectious disease
• Less likely to develop diabetes
• Less likely to be obese as a child
• Protects against gastro-intestinal tract infections
• Fewer ear infections
• Decreases SIDS by 45%
• 75% less likely to be hospitalized with respiratory illnesses
• 42% less likely to be diagnosed with allergies
• It’s been recently discovered that babies receive stem cells from breast milk
• An infant’s intestinal track is sterile at birth – microorganisms in breast milk establish a healthy environment which contributes to a stronger immune system
• And... it’s FREE

For Women

• Decreased risk of breast cancer
• Decreased risk of ovarian cancer
• Decreased risk of developing diabetes
• Weight loss – burns an estimated 500 calories/day producing milk, which can equal 6 pounds less over 12 months

Additional Cost Savings

• Save an estimated $1,432/yearon medical expenses from doctor visits
• An average savings of $1,500-$2,000 to purchase formula

The Environment

• 80,000 non-nursing women, purchasing cans of formula, create 17,000 tons of tin in 6 months in land fields around the US

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