Interview with Jenn Carrier, FNP & Advanced Nurse Lactation Consultant | Founder of Supported Starts Lactation
I’m so excited to introduce today’s guest, Jenn Carrier, an advanced nurse lactation consultant, nurse practitioner, founder of Supported Starts Lactation, a mother, and an incredible advocate for parents navigating the feeding journey.
Whether you’re breastfeeding, pumping, combo-feeding, or figuring out what works best for your family, Jenn brings so much compassion, evidence-based guidance, and real-life perspective to this often emotional and overwhelming part of parenthood.
As a parent herself and a trusted support in the Traverse City and surrounding areas, she meets families where they are and helps turn confusion and stress into confidence and connection.
Jenn, I’m so grateful you’re here—welcome!
Topic: Infant Feeding, Breastfeeding, and Postpartum Support
Why did you choose to become a lactation consultant? What drew you to this field?
Jenn: I chose to become a lactation consultant after I gave birth to my daughter. She was born as the pandemic was breaking out in 2020 and our options for postpartum support were severely limited. A lactation consultant from Healthy Futures was still able to come to our home and assist us, and it made all the difference. I knew I wanted to be able to help others the same way!
The more I learned about lactation the more interested I became. There is so much nuance that goes into each breastfeeding dyad and I love to work with families to help them discover what their unique feeding journey might look like.
When you’re not supporting new families, how do you like to spend your time? What brings you joy?
Jenn: When I’m not supporting families I love spending time in my vegetable garden at home and having picnics in the backyard with my daughter!
What’s something that always makes you laugh? What's your go-to thing to do or watch when you just want to laugh and feel good?
Jenn: My go-to comfort show is Gilmore Girls. I watched that series an untold amount of times and every time I hear or understand a joke I didn’t catch the last time!
Can you describe what a lactation consultant does, and how you typically support new parents?
Jenn: Broadly speaking, I see the role of a lactation consultant in 3 parts:
Supporting the family
My primary job is to support the family in the ways they need most with respect to feeding. How do they want their feeding journey to look? How can we move toward their goals in a way that supports their overall wellbeing? Is there something in their medical history that might be contributing? We work together to figure out what makes the most sense for each individual family unit.
Feeding the baby
There are endless combinations of ways in which this can go! Do they want to directly breastfeed 100% of the time? Combo feed with bottles of pumped milk or formula? Transition from combo feeding to fully breast milk feeding? Again, we look at the whole picture and work together to make a plan that supports both the parent’s goals and gets the baby fed in a way that supports their overall growth and brain development.
Protecting the milk supply
Was your baby in the NICU? Are they a sleepy feeder? Having problems transferring a full feeding? How can we create a personalized plan that supports your overall milk supply while also making sure you are able to feed and bond with your baby?
Of course there is a lot more nuance to it than that, but that is a brief overview.
What are some of the most common concerns or challenges you hear from parents in those first few weeks of feeding?
Jenn: Some of the most common concerns and challenges I hear from parents in the first few weeks of feeding are: painful or shallow latch, slow weight gain, and concern over low milk supply.
What’s something you wish every new parent knew before their baby arrives?
Jenn: I wish every parent knew:
How to contact lactation support.
How to hand express.
A freezer full of milk is not necessary!
Sometimes supplementing with formula is what saves your breastfeeding journey.
Feeding can be so emotional. How do you support parents who are feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or even guilty about their feeding journey?
Jenn: It is one of the most emotional experiences parents go through! I support parents with the wide range of emotions they might be experiencing by meeting them where they are. I try to help them identify the resources they possess, such as knowledge, intelligence, a supportive community, etc, and we work together to create a plan that is meaningful, understandable, and manageable.
If appropriate, we can also talk about a referral to a mental health specialist. Sometimes postpartum depression or anxiety can show up in the feelings or behaviors we have surrounding feeding. I think this is a symptom of postpartum mood disorders often gets overlooked.
What are some signs that a parent might benefit from working with a lactation consultant—especially if they’re not sure whether their experience is “normal”?
Jenn: If something hurts or doesn’t feel right, your baby is not gaining weight appropriately (as determined by their pediatrician), you are concerned about your milk supply, or you have questions you want answered – reach out! There is no “normal” feeding experience, but getting help sooner rather than later is almost always the right answer.
What advice do you have for a parent whose baby is struggling to latch, or only prefers one side?
Jenn: If your baby is struggling to latch, reach out for help ASAP! Sometimes little tweaks are all that are needed to get your baby latching and feeding.
If your baby has a side preference this can be due to body tension and may be a great indication that seeing a peds PT could be beneficial!
Side note: if your baby suddenly develops a side preference when they didn’t have one before, this is a great reason to reach out to your primary care provider or OB as it can sometimes be due to underlying breast pathology.
How can partners or support people play a helpful role in the feeding experience?
Jenn: This depends on how you are feeding your baby. If you are nursing your baby, in general, partners can bring the nursing parent food and water. They can make sure your water bottle is always full. They can clean bottles and pump parts. They can take shifts with you and, if you’re sleeping, they can bring you the baby when it’s time to nurse. They can change diapers. They can be supportive when you talk about how tired you are and how hard it can be to feed a baby. They can do laundry and clean. They can be responsible for tummy time and bath time. There are SO MANY ways to be a supportive partner!
What would you say to someone who feels like they’ve “tried everything” and feeding still isn’t going as planned?
Jenn: This is so hard and it is also really common. Unfortunately, I think most things in parenting don’t go the way we plan. I also think that, very understandably, parents tend to really wrap their identity up with the way they feed their baby. However, so much of a feeding journey is not within our control. You are not failing your baby if your feeding journey doesn't go the way you planned. There is so much nuance to breastfeeding, pumping, and formula feeding that doesn’t typically get discussed during pregnancy or in most prenatal breastfeeding classes. Often bumps in the road that are so common (like jaundice, for example) feel completely out of left field because none of it was discussed until the moment it happened. So, doing the best you can with the circumstances you are presented is actually so much of what parenting is. Getting your baby fed, whether that is through exclusively breastfeeding, pumping, formula feeding, or some combination, makes you an amazing parent.
How do you support families who are combo-feeding, pumping, or making a shift away from breastfeeding?
Jenn: This depends on what the individual family needs! However, most commonly I help parents with bottle refusal, creating a pumping schedule prior to returning to work, helping parents determine how much breast milk or formula to send to day care with their babies, and weaning.
We always start with an individual consultation and then create a care plan based around each family's individual needs.
What’s one piece of encouragement you’d love every parent to hear when it comes to feeding their baby?
I wish every parent knew that they are exactly what their baby needs regardless of how their feeding journey unfolds.
Jenn, thank you for sharing your heart and your knowledge with us today. Feeding a baby—however that looks—is deeply personal, and your voice is such a calming, empowering presence in that space.
If you’re a parent listening and you’re struggling, unsure, or just want to feel seen and supported, know that help is out there—and it can truly change everything.
You can connect with Jenn through Supported Starts Lactation, and I’ll make sure her contact info is linked below.
Thanks so much for being here, we appreciate all that you do!
Serving Traverse City, Michigan and surrounding areas.
jenn@supportedstartstc.com
Call/text: 231-613-3499
Fax: 231-216-7632
