My Experience
For my entire nursing career, of over 30 years, I have been a
maternal-child nurse. I have worked neonatal intensive care (NICU) to normal newborn nurseries, post-partum, labor and delivery and as a childbirth educator and lactation consultant. Maternal-Child Home Care has been my specialty for the last 12 years, and I have found I love to help mothers succeed at their goals. I worked as a home visitor for a Nurse-Family Partnership program for 9 of those years. This program mentored low-income first time mothers from their second trimester through their child's second birthday. Through this experience, I had extensive training in child development, parenting education, motivational interviewing, maternal and child mental heath and obtained a certification in NCAST. I have supported and guided many of these high-risk mothers on their road towards a successful breastfeeding relationship with their child as well as their parenting and life goals.
Over the years of working with mothers, I have heard too many complain of "not enough support", "so many people are telling me different things, I get so frustrated" and "I didn't have enough milk" and "my baby just wasn't getting enough". This led me to study lactation more intensely in 2008 and obtain my certification in 2009. My hope is to empower women to trust their bodies and meet their breastfeeding goals by providing evidence-based information along with compassionate clinical experience.
As a Lactation Consultant, I have worked in 3 hospitals, 2 of which are in Maryland. I am a member of ILCA (International Lactation Consultants Association) and Maryland Coalition of Lactation Consultants and founder of Mother's Milk Pod.
My husband and I have 4 children, (2 his and 2 mine), and 4 grandchildren. My very smart and lovely daughters were breastfed and I have always been so grateful that I had this experience with them, but if I had known then what I know now, it would have been alot easier!
I want to help you with your journey.
Sandra P. Mertz, RN, IBCLC, RLC
maternal-child nurse. I have worked neonatal intensive care (NICU) to normal newborn nurseries, post-partum, labor and delivery and as a childbirth educator and lactation consultant. Maternal-Child Home Care has been my specialty for the last 12 years, and I have found I love to help mothers succeed at their goals. I worked as a home visitor for a Nurse-Family Partnership program for 9 of those years. This program mentored low-income first time mothers from their second trimester through their child's second birthday. Through this experience, I had extensive training in child development, parenting education, motivational interviewing, maternal and child mental heath and obtained a certification in NCAST. I have supported and guided many of these high-risk mothers on their road towards a successful breastfeeding relationship with their child as well as their parenting and life goals.
Over the years of working with mothers, I have heard too many complain of "not enough support", "so many people are telling me different things, I get so frustrated" and "I didn't have enough milk" and "my baby just wasn't getting enough". This led me to study lactation more intensely in 2008 and obtain my certification in 2009. My hope is to empower women to trust their bodies and meet their breastfeeding goals by providing evidence-based information along with compassionate clinical experience.
As a Lactation Consultant, I have worked in 3 hospitals, 2 of which are in Maryland. I am a member of ILCA (International Lactation Consultants Association) and Maryland Coalition of Lactation Consultants and founder of Mother's Milk Pod.
My husband and I have 4 children, (2 his and 2 mine), and 4 grandchildren. My very smart and lovely daughters were breastfed and I have always been so grateful that I had this experience with them, but if I had known then what I know now, it would have been alot easier!
I want to help you with your journey.
Sandra P. Mertz, RN, IBCLC, RLC