Breastfeeding & lactation support

Breastfeeding support group

Baby Café is a family-friendly, drop-in breastfeeding support group that offers tips to help you achieve your breastfeeding goals. You can visit with an international, board-certified lactation consultant and other parents. Baby Café is available through The Mother Baby Center at United and Children’s Minnesota in St. Paul. You do not need to register and it is free to participants.

For information on our schedule and meeting location, please call the Baby Café voicemail at 651-241-6252.

Nest Collaborative partnership

Nest Collaborative is a collection of International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants® who conduct online, video appointments to help guide parents through the breastfeeding process.

Nest Collaborative team members are all moms who have breastfed and understand the challenges. They are here to offer families the best evidence-based advice, support, and guidance to help them reach their breastfeeding goals. They advocate for what families want and work closely with their primary care team to provide the best breastfeeding support they need.

They work with families to provide:

• On-demand, insurance-covered, lactation consultations
• Breastfeeding support and education for both prenatal and postpartum moms
• Easy access to International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs)
• Virtual appointments with a wide range of appointment times available
• Online and telephone appointment scheduling

Learn more about Nest Collaborative

Get more details at nestcollaborative.com or see a list of frequently asked questions.

At all Mother Baby Center locations, banked human breast milk is available for babies if supplementation is needed and approved by the parent. Banked human breast milk is also available to babies receiving care in the special care nursery or NICU. We receive our banked human breast milk from the Human Milk Banking Association of North America where it is screened, tested for safety and pasteurized. Please note, all milk donations will need to come from an approved donor. See more detailed information below.

Milk Depot breast milk donation

Drop off your breast milk at one of The Mother Baby Center Milk Depots.

For various reasons, a parent may not always be able to produce breast milk for her baby—milk banks make it possible. Second only to mother’s own breast milk, donated milk is a wonderful way for babies to receive the very best nutrition. Donor milk is often used as a bridge to help nourish premature babies until a birth parent’s milk comes in, and for premature or sick infants.

HOW TO DONATE MILK

To take advantage of dropping off your milk at one of our locations, you need to be approved to donate through Minnesota Milk Bank for Babies.

To become an approved donor:

1. Contact Minnesota Milk Bank for Babies at [email protected] or 763-546-8051.
2. Once you’re approved to donate, the affiliated milk bank will send you a kit explaining how to get the required blood testing done – all paid for by the milk bank.
3. Start pumping and freezing your milk donation.
4. After you drop your milk off at one of our depots, it will be safely and securely stored in our freezer. We will take care of shipping your milk for you.

WHERE CAN I DROP OFF MY MILK?

Please call ahead and schedule your drop off at one of the following locations:

Children’s Minnesota Hospital – Minneapolis
2525 Chicago Ave South
Minneapolis, MN 55404
612-813-2360

Mercy Hospital
4020 Coon Rapids Blvd.
Coon Rapids, MN 55433
763-236-9742

United Hospital
345 Smith Avenue North
St. Paul, MN 55102
651-241-6250

Insurance coverage

Patients are encouraged to check with their insurance plan on coverage for outpatient lactation consultation services. You may also call your pediatrician’s office to find out if they offer breastfeeding support services.