Welcome to The Lactation Spectrum Blog

Hi there, I'm Genny. It looks like this is the place where I tell you about me. Gosh, they totally underestimated the space I would need. 😅 I'll keep it as short as I can while still being myself.

We're both busy BUT we’re also both really into neurodivergent lactation support, right? [virtually high five-ing you]

➡️ Which is why you should keep reading this 😉 for the next 120 seconds.

"I have a fairly atypical professional origin story."

What makes my professional life so unusual (compared to most) is that my entire family moves around the globe every few years.

We pick up everything, and start over, again. And again. And again.

Do overs? Done it. New starts? On repeat.

That’s our life and I’m grateful for it. A chance to explore of the planet and the opportunity to re-invent my private practice every few years is both exhilarating and exhausting.

In early 2019, I packed up my private practice knowing that the next time I opened those boxes, I would take my private practice in a new and different direction.

I didn't know which direction that was exactly. Yet, I felt inspired by my personal lived experiences with breastfeeding as a neurodivergent person and parenting neurodivergent kiddos. I knew that was the direction I would pursue.

After arriving in our new city and country, I had a plan to take a deep dive into all the research about autism and breastfeeding. With both of those areas of study having (what seemed like) endless research articles individually, I was confident there would be endless amounts of information.

But there wasn't.

There were less than 10 papers. It was unsettling to say the least. I really couldn't believe that no-one was talking about this or presenting about this in our professional lactation community.

I'm happy to report that, that partly cloudy day in 2019 was the last time I could say that no-one was talking about autism and lactation.

Surprisingly, a lot of "well known" lactation conference folks were NOT interested in what I brought to the table.

That’s not a thing, they said.

No one is talking about that, they said.

What’s really so different about the experience, they asked.

The rejection was paralyzing. Moving beyond the mis-understanding and disinterest was difficult.

Dear reader, I thought about walking away and giving up.

"But, that’s not really my style. I’ve been disrupting quiet spaces since 1976, just ask my mom 🥰."

And then someone said yes.

I got my "official" start in this space in 2020 when I applied to share a poster presentation on the experiences of autistic, breastfeeding women.

Thank you ELACTA for accepting my poster presentation. MUAH! You gave me my first platform to present my community research. I’ll never forget that. ❤️

[For those who might be wondering…yes, I have thanked them personally as well, XOXO Danke für alles Regina! Check out my latest collaboration with ELACTA here.]

It was that tiny space in between a brilliant line up of lactation posters, which provided the validation I needed to KEEP MOVING FORWARD.

And look, here we are, together, changing the trajectory of lactation support. Expanding our understanding of the neurodivergent lactation experience.

My life goal has always been to make a difference, to do one thing that changes the world, somehow.

I believe I've done that.

"I’ve made my kids laugh uncontrollably and I’ve officially defined the Neurodivergent Lactation Experience. Both are extremely important and yet seemed impossible at several points over the years😅."

Alright, we're at that place where we have to transition.

Our 3 minutes are up and you can confidently say you know me a little better. By reading this you've just become part of my story, thank you for that 💛.

I’d love to be a part of yours, too. ⬇️

Send me an email to say hello and learn more about neurodivergent lactation support and how to become certified as a Neurodiverse Lactation Specialist if that's something you'd be into.

Email Me

Sending you light 🔆 from across the globe,

-Genny