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Milk and Honeysuckle Lactation and Wellness Offers Support for Mothers Feeding Infants 

By
Penny Tullis Meeker
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Kristen Weber

Kristen Weber’s background is in OBGYN nursing, and she had helped many pregnant and postpartum moms. Even with that background, she struggled nursing her first two kids.

“My breastfeeding journey started off horrible, couldn’t have been any worse,” she said.

However, local lactation consultants helped her to find joy in feeding her children which inspired Weber to become a certified lactation consultant herself. 

Milk and Honeysuckle Lactation services

Weber is not alone in her struggles with breastfeeding. Ashley Bush, the owner and founder of Bloom Women’s Counseling, Consulting and Wellness, decided to begin offering lactation services after hearing so often from new mothers in counseling about their serious breastfeeding struggles.   

Ashley Bush found Kristen Weber and they began working together to provide lactation services and founded Milk and Honeysuckle Lactation and Wellness. The lactation services are affiliated with Bloom, but are open to any mother, not just those who are receiving counseling services. 

Individualized feeding plans

Lactation consulting at Milk and Honeysuckle is not just about successful breastfeeding. Breastfeeding isn’t always the right choice for every new mom. Breastfeeding is the best nutrition, but other factors are also important such as mental health, family dynamics and goals. 

“My philosophy is we’re going to develop a plan that works for you, your baby, your family and encompasses your specific goals regarding feeding your baby…It’s very different for everybody, but it does not have to be an all or nothing journey,” Weber said.

She helps parents exploring a variety of options such as: 

  • Exclusively breastfeeding 
  • Exclusively pumping/bottle feeding
  • A mixture of bottle feeding and breastfeeding with breast milk
  • A mixture of formula and breastfeeding or breast milk

Breastfeeding awareness and education

Many parents take classes that prepare them for pregnancy and birth, but fewer resources are available to prepare parents for breastfeeding.

“A lot of people assume that breastfeeding is natural. But one thing I like to tell my patients is lactation is natural and breastfeeding is learned,” Weber said.

Not only can Weber provide education as an experienced OBGYN nurse and certified lactation consultant, but she can also empathize as a mother of five. “I’m a mom, just like you are, and I understand,” she said. 

Postpartum support group

A postpartum support group meets at the Maumee Public Library every other Friday from 11:30am–1:30pm

This group is free and open to anyone feeding infants 12 months and younger. It is meant to be a safe place to meet other moms that are in the same stage as life whether you are breastfeeding or not. 

Parents of toddlers support group

This group meets at The Millie Venue in Bowling Green; dates and times are posted on Facebook.

There is a $20 admission fee to this co-working space designed for mothers. The support group meets in the venue while the toddlers can enjoy the activities and supervision is provided for them. 

Individual visits

Consultation visits span any feeding issues including prenatal visit, post-partum in-home, back to work, bottle feeding, weaning and pumping.

Getting connected 

Kristen Weber encourages pregnant and new moms to reach out early. “We can almost always fix whatever’s going on if we intervene early enough.”

Currently, Milk and Honeysuckle accepts most insurance. 

To make appointments, call 419-326-5732.

Stay up to date on Facebook: Milk & Honeysuckle Lactation + Wellness LLC 

RELATED: Black Doulas in Toledo Pushing Forward

Students For Other Students Helps Everyone Grow

By
Julie Pompa
-

In business, an entrepreneur creates a product or process where none currently exists. Over the course of a career of more than 60 years, Toledo native and philanthropist Ford Cauffiel has earned more than 20 U.S. patents for creating products and processes for manufacturing and built successful new businesses around the world.

A person standing by a white-board.
Ford Cauffiel

But in 1989, when he learned of the impact of illiteracy on families and businesses here in Toledo and around the nation, he reached back into his business expertise to develop the Students for Other Students (S.O.S.) program.

“When you’re building a successful business it’s common to use cross training to teach good employees new skills,” said Cauffiel. In schools, “a child who is struggling will work better with a peer than an adult, and the student who is tutoring gets skills in communication, plus empathy towards others.”

After beginning in Perrysburg in 1989, the S.O.S. program is today in schools throughout northwest Ohio and other Ohio counties and in schools throughout the nation, reaching more than 20,000 students.

Partnering with schools to support kids

S.O.S. provides schools the financial support for them to establish peer-to-peer tutoring. Each school district develops its own tutoring programs, typically using older students to tutor younger students. Tutors are selected based on their expertise in specific study areas, and then trained in study skills and mentoring. They provide one-to-one instruction or assist in study groups, depending on the individual school.

Tutors are paid up to $8.00 per hour for two to four hours per week. Funding for the school is provided by S.O.S. (approximately $10,000 per school) and local funding sources (such as the school, Parent Teacher Associations and community organizations). Rotary International is now matching program contributions with S.O.S. to begin in-school programs. 

Each school is required to submit an annual evaluation of their program, measuring the effectiveness of the peer tutoring on grades, attendance, behavioral standards, test results and teacher reporting.

Thriving in a ‘new community’ at TSA

“It’s been really great” being involved in S.O.S. at Toledo School of the Arts (TSA), said Tutor Evelynn Sanford, who works in the school’s Homework Center and at study tables during the school day. She recalls one of the students she has tutored in mathematics, “She now has an A in math and is taking an honors class.”

two people posing for a picture.
Dave Gierke, TSA development director, with Tutor Evelynn Sanford.

TSA is a charter school drawing from as many as 30 school districts for 6th through 12th grade.

“Students from a variety of experience bases are essentially joining a new community,” when they arrive at TSA, explained Dave Gierke, school development director who wrote the request for S.O.S. support in 2014. More than a dozen students are currently serving there as paid tutors.

Students Sanford is tutoring had virtual training in elementary school during the pandemic. “They’re missing many fundamental skills from that time,” she said, so she works to improve those skills. Often students will ask for help with a particular assignment. “I’ll walk them through the steps, and then watch and assist them as they do the next exercise,” she explained. “Repetition helps a lot, especially with math exercises.”

Gierke said the program helps the tutor as well. “Teaching can allow a student like Evelyn to leverage her skills while she builds her own communication skills,” he said.  “Schools not involved in S.O.S. are missing an opportunity to help their students grow – on both ends of this process.”

For more information about the S.O.S. program, phone 419.843.5798 or email [email protected].

Black Doulas in Toledo Pushing Forward

By
Molly Klima
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Anita the Doula

Tiana Taylor and Anita the Doula are Toledo natives. They are both college graduates and entrepreneurs. They’ve also been working as full spectrum doulas for more than five years. Both women have experienced the joys of watching families get off to healthy starts, being empowered and well-prepared for transition into a new phase of life. Taylor also offers fertility, womb and pre-natal massage. 

Photo by empirical affair photography.

Taylor’s interest in birthwork first sparked while at college taking a class called “Women in Pain.” One chapter in her textbook discussed women birthing babies in different parts of the world. Taylor realized the differences between birth culture in America and other countries. For instance, in some cultures, childbirth is a communal event. Everyone helps. There’s a great realm of support as the standard, not as the exception.  

Anita the Doula has her Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, is a paralegal, a Qualified Mental Health professional, and holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership. She is the founder and CEO of The Doula Xperience. She has been able to provide services at no cost through grants and contracts in partnership with these agencies: Mental Health Board, Ohio Department of Health, Healthy Start, Health Department, and Health Partners of NWO. Anita is thankful for the community and their support. Through grants and partnerships with these agencies she has trained and certified over 20 doulas. She is also a First/First Aid instructor.

Why doulas matter

Doulas provide physical and emotional support to women throughout pregnancy and the birthing process. Physical support may include relaxation techniques, massage therapy, birth positions and lactation consulting. They are able to be an advocate at appointments and during the birth itself. This allows an expectant mother to understand all the medical terminology being used and know all of her options. Doulas do not deliver babies.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics and National Vital Statistics System, mortality in 2020-2021 Black, non-Hispanic, maternal mortality rates were 2.6 times higher than their white counterparts. 

“Since 2020 there is a buzz word around Black women’s health. I can see certain medical professionals trying to work with us and understand our role. But the outcomes aren’t changing,” Taylor said. “The labor and delivery units struggle with being understaffed and stressed.”

Doula services are evidenced based practices that not only include a healthy birthing experience, but are also proven to decrease the risk of babies being born prematurely or having low birth weight. Doulas increase the likelihood of mother’s leaving the hospital breastfeeding. Cesarean sections and other medical interventions are less likely to be needed when a doula is present.

Who pays

Six states have billable doula services through Medicaid, Ohio is not one of them. Anita has advocated with Paula Hicks-Hudson in Columbus for these services to be billable directly through Medicaid. She has also met with other organizations and policy analysts in Washington DC. More private insurances are beginning to cover these services.

“There’s this misconception that Black doulas only serve women who are Black and low income, or that services are free. We are paid for our services and have a whole spectrum of clients. We’ve had women who have their PHd, master’s degree. We have private pay clients. And we serve all women, regardless of race,” Anita said.

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Free Literary Fun at the Northwest Ohio Teen Book Festival

By
Mary Genson
-
The Teen Advisory Board. Photo by Shannon Holleran.

For the tween and teen reading and writing enthusiasts, you will want to be at the Northwest Ohio Teen Book Festival on March 9. Doors open at 8:30am and the scavenger hunt begins. 

All junior and senior high school tweens and teens are invited to the Northwest Ohio Teen Book Festival. This event is brought to you by a fantastic group of literary-loving teens and volunteers.

The Northwest Ohio Teen Book Festival is returning for its 3rd year, addressing teens in Northwest Ohio and the surrounding area in encouraging, educating and igniting a passion for literacy. This event is an excellent opportunity for teens interested in reading and writing. The festival will kick off with a scavenger hunt, followed by the opening of keynote doors. Next will be four sessions, with seven breakout options per session, concluding the day with an author book signing, but please only bring books for them to sign. The mentioned books will be for sale all day long.  

During this event, teens will engage in a community book club with keynote speaker Eric Smith, featuring his novel “Don’t Read the Comments.” Have the book read ahead of time and join in on the conversation.

Specific activities will go on all day, so check out the Northwest Ohio Teen Book Festival website for the full schedule and plan out your time.

Teens will have the opportunity to learn about all things writing, including character and world-building, story drafting and publishing. Twenty-five authors from various genres from as far away as Texas will attend, sharing their knowledge and discussing their books. 

It is highly recommended to check the schedule to make it to all the author speaks you’re interested in, along with lunch schedules. You can pack your lunch if you’d rather sit in with an author.   

Admission is free, and this event is open to the public, but please register for the book festival through Eventbrite.

Schools are welcome to register busloads of students, with possible sponsorship to help cover the cost of the busing.

Follow the Northwest Ohio Teen Book Festival on Facebook to learn more about the volunteer and fundraising events held throughout the year to make this event possible!

Rossford Junior/Senior High School, 701 Superior St. Rossford.

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