Thank you for visiting my website. Unfortunately my appointments are closed until November.

Please visit this website to find another IBCLC. Details of all breastfeeding support groups in Bristol, North Somserset and South Gloucestershire. For online support please join the Facebook group Bristol Breastfeeding Mummies.

The National Breastfeeding Helpline is open daily 9:30 am - 9:30 pm, tel 0300 100 0212.

Breastfeeding support in Bristol

For breastfeeding support from an experienced professional in Bristol, contact The Breastfeeding Medicine Clinic today and find out more about what we can do to help you on your breastfeeding journey.

An experienced breastfeeding professional you can trust

I founded The Breastfeeding Medicine Clinic in order to provide a new service to parents in Bristol and surrounding areas. In the USA, Breastfeeding Medicine is an increasingly widespread speciality, however, there are only a few doctors in the UK doing this. As Bristol’s first medical doctor with the Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) qualification, you can have the confidence of receiving expert care. I am a part-time Emergency (A&E) doctor and in addition I have over 5 years of experience in infant feeding. As well as voluntary peer supporting, I have undertaken additional training and qualifications to be able to offer the best possible care for families.

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I offer support at any point along your journey: antenatal breastfeeding education, building up your confidence with a new-born baby, complex breastfeeding problems, advice for continuing breastfeeding when returning to work, and management of lactation in patients with specific medical conditions. I am also able to prescribe medication and in the near future I will be able to offer frenulotomy (tongue tie) procedures.

I support parents to reach their own feeding goals, whatever that looks like for them. I believe in inclusive breastfeeding – all breast milk feeding is breastfeeding – regardless of amount or method (breast, bottle, tube etc). I believe that you’re doing the best you can for your baby and that your breastfeeding experience is important.

I look forward to meeting you,

Sofia

Feedback from Parents

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“Sofia was so supportive and informative at all stages of my breastfeeding journey with my second child. There were many problems that I encountered and I can honestly say I wouldn’t have been able to continue for so long without the encouragement, kindness and expertise of Sofia. I would thoroughly recommend seeking her advice, she is fantastic!”

- J. Prince

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“If I had not had you there with me in those early weeks I genuinely do not know what would have happened to me/us. The pain was unbearable. I was in a very dark place. No one else was listening. The information I was given was at times shockingly inaccurate. You listened. You believed. You understood. You stepped in with a support that I absolutely needed. And whilst I was mentally shaky you gave me the confidence to persevere to find out what was wrong rather than just accepting misinformation. Sofia, from one mother to another - THANK YOU WITH ALL OF MY HEART. There are so many mothers/families who need that support, care and education - I am truly thrilled that they will have you there to guide them.”

- H. Lambert

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“Having had a smooth breastfeeding journey with my first baby, I naively expected to have a similar experience second time round. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way and I needed some extra support. I was battling through postnatal depression and found it a difficult to let people in. But Sofia was my life line and I can hand on heart say she went above and beyond for our family. She struck a brilliant chord between offering all the help I needed but in a way that didn't make me feel any more overwhelmed than I already was. She certainly made us all feel at ease and was so thoughtful. She not only helped our breastfeeding journey, but helped our family. I have an enormous gratitude to her and was so pleased to be able to continue our breastfeeding journey with all her help.”

- K. Roberts

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“Breastfeeding just seemed so simple. Lots of well-meaning advice at antenatal classes about how it shouldn’t hurt and you just needed to do x,y,z to make it work. Unfortunately, admission to hospital with mastitis, sepsis and a breast abscess gave me a crash landing in just how complex this field is.
I felt overwhelmed, exhausted, and scared, looking after my 7 day old baby and not knowing what to do. I received conflicting advice from well-meaning midwives about how to position baby and how to approach feeding/pumping.
Sofia helped me with a cool head and a warm heart. She helped me to relax and optimise feeding, and I was able to seek her expert advice to work through various problems that cropped up over the course of my illness. I finally felt reassured that the advice I was getting was correct, and I could finally start enjoying my breastfeeding journey (which is still going strong nearly 8 months later).”

- C. Swanson-Low

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“Sofia helped me with my 3rd baby when she was 5 weeks old. I had fed my two sons til 2 years+ so it came as a shock when #3 wasn't gaining weight as expected. She was so calm and patient with us both and so knowledgeable about what could have been going wrong and how to turn things around it was super-reassuring. She gave me both face to face time and a heap of resources to use, her assistance was invaluable. She also had a magic touch with babies which is just what you want when you are exhausted with a frustrated newborn! I would heartily recommend seeing Sofia if you feel something isn't quite right with your feeding.”

- E. Cara

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“With my second baby, after some advice that I found patronising from my health visitor, I stopped breast feeding much earlier than I actually wanted. Sofia was the first person who I felt actually listened to me, she gave me fantastic practical advice, and kept me going with supportive text messages. She helped me to increase my supply and breastfeed my baby until I felt ready to stop. I wish I'd asked her for advice after my first baby, as I still think about my relationship with breast feeding and just how emotional the journey can be.”

- C. Rainsbury-Pollock

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“Sofia was an absolute godsend and played a major role in my continuing to breastfeed my baby until he was over a year old. I planned to return to work when my baby was only 14 weeks old and had received quite a few discouraging comments from other healthcare professionals/mothers when I mentioned my hope of expressing breastmilk at work. Thankfully Sofia was on hand with a wealth of experience of breast pumps and expressing milk. She reassured me that my plans were possible and that in many other countries, returning to work and expressing milk is commonplace. Sofia was able to provide practical advice on hospital grade breast pumps and how to express hands free at work using a pumping bra and breastfeeding cover.
I am amazed to say that despite all of my worries, our baby was exclusively fed breastmilk until 9 months. I continued to breastfeed him when I was at home until he was around 13 months and felt happy that I had been able to give him the best possible start in life.”

- H. Crooks

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