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View Winners → Pasadena Breastfeeding Center Wraps Growing Families in Much-Needed Support
Arcadia Weekly Dec 23, 2020
Pasadena Breastfeeding Center provides virtual and in-person lactation consultations as well as perinatal health care classes to families across Los Angeles.
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By Emily Glory Peters
For the many families who brought a child into the world in 2020, life has been a tenuous balance of joy, fear, and frustration. From solo prenatal check-ups to not having birthing partners allowed in the delivery room, the year has seen many moms and parents bravely maneuver a mounting pile of COVID-19 restrictions. When Huntington Hospital closed its breastfeeding center this spring, it appeared to be yet another pandemic-related casualty—until two women decided to do something about it.
“We founded Pasadena Breastfeeding Center because of the lack of community support as changes happened with the hospital. There was such a need,” says Christina Tenorio. Together with her friend and co-founder Teresa Peters, both women had served as international board-certified lactation consultants and childbirth educators at Huntington Hospital for years before their department was shuttered due to COVID. Within weeks, the pair opened Pasadena Breastfeeding Center to prevent more families from “falling through the cracks.”
“Those first few weeks after birth can determine if a family will breastfeed, how long they’ll breastfeed, and how successful it is,” says Peters. “Since most of these issues happen once you’re at home, it’s the support you get there that matters—and that’s where we come in.”
Offering Prenatal Classes and Lactation Consultations
Currently, Pasadena Breastfeeding Center offers online prenatal classes covering childbirth preparation, breastfeeding basics, and baby care, as well as private lactation consultations. Available seven days a week and easily booked online, the consultations can be virtual or in-person, with Peters and Tenorio employing medical grade personal protective equipment (PPE), temperature checks, and social distancing when possible to keep families safe. Both women emphasize the importance of personalizing the experience rather than supplying general lactation advice.
“Breastfeeding isn’t justabout milk. It’s extremely personal—it’s the place your baby first understandswho they are and what community is,” explains Peters. “Mom, or whomever isbreastfeeding or chestfeeding, is the first member of their community, and theydeserve unbiased health professionals who will listen to their stories andunderstand what’s unique about their bodies so we can better address anynursing challenges.” Preparing new moms and families for childbirth is equallyimportant.
“Whether it’s painmanagement, pacing of the labor, or something else, not everyone in the laborroom has the same agenda as the mother. We want to restore autonomy to thesefamilies because everyone’s body is different, and your body changes with eachlabor. Personalized prenatal education empowers women and their families,” saysTenorio.
Building Community in Pasadena and Beyond
Offering this level ofsupport literally comes with the territory. Both holding degrees in maternalchild health and human lactation and with a combined 40-plus years servingfamilies across Los Angeles, Tenorio and Peters have formed close ties withmany local physicians, nurses, health centers, and clinics. Those relationshipsgive Pasadena Breastfeeding Center a deeper understanding of what localfamilies need and where they can find help, the pair explain—something which,as moms themselves, both value.
“I raised my kids here. Iknow the doctors, I know the hospitals, and I’m invested in what breastfeedinglooks like in San Gabriel Valley. This is the community I want to serve,”Peters explains. Helping transplants to the area is also a focus, Tenorio notes.“For some moms who’ve moved here from another state or country, we may be theironly form of family support,” she says. “We want you to know that we’re herefor you.”
To bring moms together,Pasadena Breastfeeding Center offers a free, online breastfeeding support groupevery week on Zoom. Tenorio and Peters are also working on accepting insurancewith the aim of making their services as accessible as possible. And whilelaunching a new business during the pandemic hasn’t been easy, with each newfamily they help, Peters and Tenorio feel they’ve made the right decision inopening the center.
“The knowledge we haveshouldn’t be shut behind doors for people who need it. We want people to feellike we’re the family they can call to help them quell their fears,” saysPeters. “We’re so grateful for every parent that includes us in their birthingor nursing journey, and we are so excited to help even more.”
To learn more about Pasadena Breastfeeding Center, visit pasadenabreastfeedingcenter.com or email pasadenabreastfeedingcenter@gmail.com, and follow them on Instagram and Facebook @pasadenabreastfeedingcenter.
