Breastfeeding at WCH’s Women’s Pavilion

Supporting your individual needs throughout your entire breastfeeding journey.

Our internationally board-certified lactations consultants can provide comprehensive breastfeeding support in a variety of settings and meet the needs of all families.

Common reasons for requesting a lactation consultation include:

• Failure or difficulty with latch
• Sore nipples
• Multiple births (twins, triplets)
• Flat or inverted nipples
• Prior breast surgery
• Low or overabundant milk supply
• Engorgement
• Sucking abnormalities
• Infant shows little interest in breastfeeding
• Returning to work
• Slow infant weight gain

Our expert lactation consultants are highly qualified and experienced in working exclusively with moms and their babies on a wide range of breastfeeding issues. In addition, all of our obstetric nurses have additional training to help you meet your breastfeeding goals. Several nurses have advanced breastfeeding training and have obtained lactation certification.

OPEN 7 Days a Week!

Prenatal Education: Breastfeeding classes available! Taught by our IBCLC’s to enhance your knowledge about infant nutrition which will help prepare you and your support person for improving the start to your breastfeeding journey.

Inpatient: You will receive excellent care while a patient in Women’s Pavilion from a highly trained and dedicated nursing staff that will assist you while breastfeeding your newborn. We also have a team of experienced IBCLC’s available to work with you during your hospital stay and beyond.

Outpatient: In collaboration with Bloomington Breastfeeding Care our Women’s Pavilion Lactation Consultants provide private one-on-one breastfeeding consultations. Appointments can be made before the arrival of your baby and after. To schedule an appointment, call ( 330)202-5567.

Virtual Visits also Available! We want you to be able to reach a lactation consultant day and evening 7 days a week, so our team makes themselves available virtually as well.

FREE Breastfeeding Support Group: The Baby Bistro is a virtual support group that welcomes all mothers regardless of location or delivering facility to provide accurate breastfeeding information, education, social and emotional support, and access to lactation consultants at every meeting. Follow us @ WCHWomensPavilion on social media for more information.

Many expectant mothers and even fathers get involved with a breastfeeding class, so they can prepare for and help ensure their earliest experiences with their newborn are memorable.

At the Women’s Pavilion at Wooster Community Hospital, you will receive instruction by a certified lactation consultant, who will cover the basics of breastfeeding as well as where to get help if you need it.

To consult a lactation consultant at the Women’s Pavilion at Wooster Community Hospital for breastfeeding support services, call (330) 202-5567.

2023 Breastfeeding Class Schedule

Beginning in August 2021 the Women's Pavilion will begin offering in-person childbirth classes. These classes will be dependent on our community transmission rate as determined by the Ohio Department of Health. Masks will be required during in person classes along with social distancing and small class sizes. In person classes will be on a first come first serve basis, please register early. For everyone's convenience and comfort level we will also be offering a virtual option as well. 

• January 18th
• February 8th
• March 8th
• April 12th
• May 10th
• June 14th
• July 12th
• August 9th
• September 13th
• October 11th
• November 8th
• December 13th

Class Times:

6:30-8:30pm

Register Now

To sign up for a Wooster Community Hospital breastfeeding class, call (330) 202-5548.

This award is an international award from ILCA (the International Lactation Consultant Association) and IBLCE (International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, The IBLCE exam is the premier, internationally recognized measure of knowledge in lactation consulting and ILCA is the independent professional association for health care professionals who care for breastfeeding families.

This global award requires facilities to not only hire and utilize IBCLC's but also have a dedicated lactation program, complete an evidence-based project that protects, promotes, and supports breastfeeding and the IBCLC credential, and produce proper documentation for said project. It also requires the achievement and documentation of a specific breastfeeding training program for health professional staff who care for new families which is separate from the said IBCLC project.

Last round, the United States produced only 149 hospitals to receive this recognition and of those 149 Ohio had ten the majority were large health systems. We are extremely proud to be able to enhance Wooster Community Hospital's portfolio of Award-winning quality health care close to home.

If you'd like to read the full article, click here!

The Wooster Community Hospital (WCH) Women’s Pavilion has opened a new milk drop site for donated human milk. Starting Tuesday, September 28, 2021, donations from healthy, lactating women can be made at 1761 Beall Avenue in Wooster. WCH will store donated human milk in a freezer before transferring it to a milk bank located in the OhioHealth Eastside Health Center in Columbus, at no cost to the donor.

This initiative has been launched in partnership with the OhioHealth Mothers’ Milk Bank, under the guidelines of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA). This project provides pasteurized human milk to infants whose mothers are unable to provide their own milk.

For more information, please click here!

Individualized breastfeeding support for both mother and child to ensure personalized care and a positive breastfeeding experience.

Kirstin Fortune, Family Nurse Practitioner, IBCLC
Bloomington Breastfeeding Care

Kirstin Fortune, FNP, IBCLC, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner and an international board-certified lactation consultant that works in collaboration with Wooster Community Hospital Health System. Kirstin has extended office appointments available to directly observe and assist the breastfeeding couplet to make recommendations and provide treatments as needed.

“I am passionate about supporting families in our community and am looking forward to providing this unique service to mothers and babies. I value providing comprehensive care and building relationships with my patients. Breastfeeding comes with challenges and I would love the opportunity to make the transition from the birth to your home easier.”

 Benefits to receiving care from an FNP IBCLC

• Receive breastfeeding care and support for both mom and baby in one convenient location
• Newborn weight management
• Care of complex breastfeeding problems
• Jaundice care and management
• Treatment of breast infections, severe engorgement, low milk supply, and more
• Nutrition plans for the premature breastfed infant
• Receive supportive and evidenced based education that will support your breastfeeding journey
• Able to prescribe medications for both mom and baby if needed
• Care for complex breastfeeding problems
• Evaluation for lip and tongue ties
• Collaborative care with your primary care physicians/pediatricians

Phone Number: (330)202-5705

Fax: (330)202-5706

Hours of Operation:

Sunday-Thursday

Available virtually for telehealth visits.