Emily Kaiser, MSW, RLC, IBCLC

I opened my practice in 2020 after my own breastfeeding experience revealed how difficult it could be for families in the Bowling Green area to access skilled, individualized feeding support. Today, I provide family-centered lactation and infant-feeding care in Bowling Green, Kentucky, throughout the surrounding region, and through virtual appointments for families worldwide.

My background in social work and mental health allows me to look beyond feeding challenges alone. I consider the whole family experience, including the parent's physical health, emotional well-being, birth and feeding experiences, daily responsibilities, support systems, and personal goals. By understanding the broader context of a family's situation, I can provide care that is both clinically effective and realistically sustainable.

I also bring the lived experience of being a healthcare professional with chronic health conditions, including Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) and related comorbidities. I understand how exhausting and discouraging it can be when symptoms are complex, concerns are dismissed, or care fails to account for the whole person. These experiences have strengthened my commitment to listening carefully, taking concerns seriously, and helping families navigate feeding alongside chronic illness, disability, and medical complexity.

I am proud to be included in the EDS Healthcare Professionals Directory as a provider of lactation and infant-feeding care. In addition to my lived experience, I have intentionally pursued education on the unique lactation, pumping, and infant-feeding challenges that individuals with EDS and other chronic or complex medical conditions may encounter. This knowledge helps me recognize contributing factors that might otherwise be overlooked and collaborate effectively with families and their healthcare teams to develop individualized, practical solutions.

A Mother's Village is especially known for supporting families with complex or persistent feeding concerns, including oral dysfunction, suspected tongue or lip ties, bottle refusal, low milk supply, pumping challenges, painful or inefficient feeding, and slow weight gain. I take time to evaluate the entire feeding picture rather than focusing on a single symptom. This includes assessing oral function, feeding mechanics, milk transfer, breast or bottle flow, pumping effectiveness, medical contributors, infant regulation, and what is realistically sustainable for the family.

Because I do not perform frenectomy procedures, I have no financial incentive to recommend a release. Families can expect an objective, function-based assessment and honest guidance regarding whether a frenectomy may or may not be beneficial.

Every feeding journey and every family are welcome in my practice. I proudly provide inclusive, affirming care to LGBTQ+ parents and families and am listed in The OutList LGBTQ+ Affirming Healthcare Directory. I support families who are breastfeeding, chestfeeding, pumping, bottle-feeding, combination feeding, supplementing, or formula feeding. Families can expect compassionate, judgment-free care, clear explanations, and an active role in developing an individualized plan that aligns with their goals and circumstances.

Specialties

My primary specialties include pumping assessment and optimization, evidence-based flange fitting, individualized pump selection, and personalized pump settings. I help families choose pumps that best fit their anatomy, milk supply, pumping frequency, lifestyle, and feeding goals. I also troubleshoot pumping pain, low milk output, difficulty triggering milk ejection, nipple swelling or damage, and challenges with building or maintaining milk production.

My approach to flange fitting reflects current evidence and recognizes that a comfortable, effective fit involves much more than measuring nipple diameter. I consider comfort, nipple movement, tissue elasticity, milk removal, pump performance, and how breast and nipple tissue respond throughout an entire pumping session. During in-person visits, families can try a variety of flange sizes, shapes, materials, inserts, and styles to compare comfort and effectiveness. During virtual consultations, I can observe pumping sessions, demonstrate available options, and help families identify products and adjustments most likely to meet their needs. I also provide support for exclusive pumping, wearable pump use, returning to work, maintaining milk supply, and establishing realistic, sustainable pumping routines.

I also specialize in bottle-feeding and bottle refusal, including bottle and nipple selection, flow rate assessment, paced feeding, positioning, feeding mechanics, oral motor coordination, and individualized strategies for introducing or reintroducing a bottle.

Additional specialty areas include low milk supply, complex feeding difficulties, functional oral assessments, oral dysfunction, tethered oral tissues, oral habilitation, and pre- and post-frenectomy support. I have advanced training in identifying the many factors that can contribute to feeding challenges, including oral motor coordination, anatomy, tension patterns, primitive reflexes, compensatory feeding behaviors, breast or bottle flow, parent and infant positioning, pumping effectiveness, hormonal and medical factors, and infant regulation.

I also support families navigating painful feeding, reflux-like symptoms, coughing or choking during feeds, oral aversion, relactation, induced lactation, supplementation, weaning, and feeding challenges involving premature infants, NICU graduates, and medically complex infants.

My approach is function-focused, evidence-based, trauma-informed, and family-centered. Above all, my goal is to help families develop feeding plans that are both clinically appropriate and realistic for their unique needs, values, and circumstances.