Chelsea Carver

Chelsea Carver

IBCLC, CERTIFIED CHILDBIRTH EDUCATOR, CERTIFIED & REGISTERED LACTATION CONSULTANT

Credentials: Bachelors of Community Development; Certified Childbirth Educator with experience as a labor doula; Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Registered Lactation Consultant, Training in CFT (Craniosacral Fascial Therapy via the Gillespie Approach)

My Story:

In 2012 I began a two year Childbirth Education Certification program through the Institute for G.O.D. International because I wanted to serve women here and in India through maternal and infant health.  Through the program, I started teaching and serving local families as a doula, including local refugee families that I still have a relationship with many years later.  In the summer of 2012, with my husband and a team of others, I took my seven month old daughter Rahomi to India for six weeks of learning and serving those in poverty.  During that time I found myself surrounded by vulnerable mothers and babies who were malnourished, sick, preyed on by corporations, and desperate for help.  On that trip, the Lord called me into the field of lactation that supported my fat and healthy baby even in hostile environments with antibodies and abundant nutrition.  These women deserved the support and education that I had received. 

When I had my second daughter Niah, she was born with a rare heart condition (HRHS) and I received the help of a lactation hero Jane Kershaw.  Jane is now a retired RN and IBCLC who started and managed A Mother’s Place at Centennial Hospital for over 30 years and Hope Breastfeeding Support in-home lactation for six years while training me.  She worked with me day and night to help Niah nurse.  It was an around the clock journey through NICU, home oxygen, open heart surgeries, tongue ties, pumping, oversupply, losing supply, and tandem nursing my older child to protect supply for my critically ill child.  During that time, Jane offered me the once in a lifetime opportunity to train with her over the next six years to become an IBCLC and carry on her legacy of supporting moms and babies.  I would not be doing this work today without Jane’s faithfulness and expertise.  I passed my IBCLC board exams in December 2021 and have been in private practice with NOVA since then.

My Work Now:

As a lactation consultant, my role is to listen and support mothers and babies on their breastfeeding journey.  We evaluate their moment and make a plan together to meet their unique needs and goals, and these plans can vary from visit to visit as their situation changes.  My priorities are counseling parents through this vulnerable process, overseeing baby’s growth and development, protecting or building mom’s milk supply, and keeping breastfeeding an enjoyable experience for both.  My role is assessment, support and empowerment— this includes the complex world of tethered oral tissues and functional oral assessment for baby.  I am a huge proponent of collaborative care and have a great team who I refer families to for body work, feeding therapy, or tongue tie release providers when needed.

Whether you are a first time mom needing a prenatal consult, a new mom working out the difficulties of learning on the job with a new little one, a veteran mom who is learning how to navigate nursing with a new “dance partner”, a mother going back to work outside the home and needing a game plan, or an adoptive parent wanting to feed the baby at the breast or help with biologically intuitive bottle-feeding— I’m here to help.  I can also assist moms looking to build their milk supply, preserve it when returning to work, complementary feed with breastmilk and formula, introduce solids, or wean from a breastfeeding relationship. Together we can work through whatever challenges you may be facing with feeding your baby and help you have the confidence and ability to meet your baby’s needs.   

Conferences attended: 

2023 CFT (Craniosacral Fascial Therapy) Foundations and Infant training via the Gillespie Approach

2023 Gold Online LearningTongue tie Symposium

2017 SELCA (Southeastern Lactation Consultant Association hosting Dr.Bobby Gaheri)

2017 Western Kentucky Breastfeeding Coalition

2015 Northwest Georgia Breastfeeding Coalition