Your Baby, Your Choice

Feeding options and support to help your baby thrive

A certified lactation consultant at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Kimberleigh Weiss-Lewit, MA, IBCLC, PMH-C says, “How a family chooses to feed their child is a personal choice that deserves to be respected and supported. The most important thing is ensuring the child is getting adequate nourishment. That may come in the form of breast milk, donor milk, formula, or a combination of the three. Every parent should learn about and carefully consider their options and make the choice that works best for them.”

With over 30 years of experience advising families on feeding options and practices, certified lactation consultant Bridget Bromirski, C-PNP, IBCLC in SVMC’s Women’s and Children’s Services Department encourages all parents-to-be to make full use of all resources available related to the care and feeding of their baby.

“There’s an expression ‘you don’t know what you don’t know.’ I think that applies particularly well to having a baby,” says Bromirski. “Throughout a pregnancy, parents should try to learn about all the resources available to them and learn all they can; this includes feeding options. Just as you want to be comfortable and confident in the choices you make related to delivery, you want to go home with the same sense of confidence about how you’ll feed your baby and know where to turn when you have questions.”

SVMC offers the following pre- and post-natal resources related to feeding a newborn. To learn more about these resources, call (802) 447-5160:

Childbirth Education: during the final trimester, covers feeding options and other topics related to delivery and caring for a newborn

Prenatal lactation class: offered every other month to all expectant parents to learn more about lactation, breastfeeding, and feeding their baby human milk

Postpartum lactation support: consultation with a board-certified lactation consultant immediately after birth and throughout a new family’s stay at the hospital  

Ongoing lactation support: SVMC’s lactation consultants are available 24/7 to support and assist in the days, weeks, and months after birth.

The Baby Café: Based out of the Bennington Community Market at 239 Main St., Bennington every Wednesday from 11 to 12:30 p.m., the Baby Café is a free and friendly resource for new and expectant parents—no matter how you are or plan to feed your child. Staffed with International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants and/or RNs, the Café provides breastfeeding support in an informal, drop-in group setting with lunch provided.