Right now, we are offering our group every other Friday at 11 a.m. at the Craniosacral Therapy Center of Grand Rapids, at 1005 Parchment Drive SE, Grand Rapids MI 49546. Please see upcoming dates on this page in the yellow box.

The group costs $60 a session for an hour with two craniosacral therapists and an IBCLC lactation consultant in a small-group setting.

We also offer a discounted rate for four sessions at $200. If you'd like to purchase four sessions to receive the discount, please talk to our front desk person before or after the group, and they can help you obtain the discount.

While there are many free support breastfeeding groups around the area, many of them are advice groups with limited practical support. What we offer is different - direct access to an IBCLC lactation consultant, the gold standard in lactation support, as well as hands-on mini treatments for your baby to help them release tension and have optimal oral function for breastfeeding. We do offer warm support, advice and cameraderie, but we offer much more than that. These sessions can also be a great way to try out meeting with an IBCLC or craniosacral therapist to see how that works for you and your baby or receiving on-going support from within the group.

IBCLC stands for International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. It's recognized as the gold standard of lactation care because of the intensive training and experience IBCLC's have. The lactation consultants at your birthing hospital or pediatrician's office may have significant training, but often, they don't. An IBCLC has to go through rigorous coursework, training and fulfill hundreds of hands-on hours to get their certification. As a result, they are deeply knowledgeable when it comes to breastfeeding and offer much more comprehensive support.

Our IBCLC, Shira Johnson, is a wonderful resource. You can find out more about her on her website, ShiraJohnsonLactation.com.

Craniosacral therapy is a gentle on-the-body therapy that helps release tension in the tissue and the fascia. Often, moms who are struggling to breastfeed and get a functioning latch don't realize that there might be tension or asymmetries in their baby's body that are interfering with breastfeeding. Releasing this tension can make breastfeeding much more successful and help you reach your breastfeeding goals.

Babies with colic or persistent fussiness also benefit from craniosacral therapy because it can help calm an overstimulated nervous system. From this place of inner calm, a baby can feed better and feel more satisfied.

For more on how craniosacral therapy can help breastfeeding, please read our blog post How Craniosacral Can Make Breastfeeding Easier and More Productive.

Our practice specializes in working with infants and young children, so we are used to working on their terms - how they're comfortable and when they're comfortable. Craniosacral therapy on babies can be done while the parent is holding them or feeding them, or the therapist can cradle them as well or allow them to look at toys or whatever is comfortable for them. We work slowly and gently so that baby is comfortable and happy and adjust as needed.