Lactation and infant feeding are at the heart of Lara’s practice. She supports families with everything from prenatal breastfeeding preparation and early latch concerns to painful feeding, low milk supply, poor milk transfer, bottle feeding difficulties, oral dysfunction, tongue ties, and more complex feeding challenges.

A lactation consultation with Lara looks beyond whether baby is simply “latched.” She assesses the entire feeding relationship, including how baby feeds, milk transfer and supply, tongue and jaw function, oral reflexes, breathing, body tension and movement, positioning, and your experience and feeding goals. Her completed training in pediatric myofunctional therapy is integrated directly into her lactation work, providing an additional understanding of oral function, tongue movement and posture, breathing, and development of the mouth and face. The goal is to understand why feeding is difficult so that recommendations are specific to your baby rather than relying on a one size fits all approach.

Lara also provides craniosacral therapy for babies and adults, with a particular interest in infants experiencing feeding difficulties, body tension, asymmetry, or challenges with comfortable movement and positioning. For babies, treatment is exceptionally gentle and involves assessing patterns of tension and mobility throughout the body, including the head, neck, jaw, mouth, and surrounding structures. This can be particularly useful when body tension or restricted movement appears to be one piece of a larger feeding challenge.

Craniosacral therapy is used as a complementary therapy, not as a replacement for appropriate medical or lactation care. Emerging research into gentle manual and osteopathic therapies suggests potential benefits for feeding function, comfort, mobility, and some symptoms of infant colic, particularly when biomechanical factors are contributing. Lara’s background as both an RN and IBCLC allows her to integrate hands-on treatment with a comprehensive clinical assessment and recognize when something requires further medical investigation or referral.

For families preparing for birth, Lara offers individualized prenatal preparation that goes well beyond a standard prenatal appointment. Sessions are tailored to what you need and may include assessing movement and body tension, using Leopold’s manoeuvres to better understand baby’s position, hands-on body balancing, individualized exercises, labour and birth positioning, breastfeeding preparation, and working through questions or concerns about an upcoming or previous birth. Lara draws on her nursing background and advanced birth preparation training, including Body Ready Method®, to help you understand your options and feel physically and practically prepared for birth.

There is no expectation that pregnancy, birth, or feeding needs to look a certain way. Lara’s role is to listen, assess carefully, explain what she is seeing in a way that makes sense, and help you decide what comes next. Her care is evidence informed, practical, non-judgemental, and centred around the goals that matter to you and your family.