Heleen Hilgers

More important than breast or bottle is that you are doing well

Originally I am a nurse. A number of years working in hospitals, providing maternity care in the Bijlmer and traveling in other cultures taught me that several roads lead to Rome. Everything I learned in my training was often at odds with what I encountered elsewhere. My curiosity grew into a fascination.

In 1995 I graduated from the lactation consultant training program, the first batch in the Netherlands. The thought that I would be able to make breastfeeding my job was not a preconceived goal. No one had gone before me. However, I was soon approached by parents and colleagues with questions. The result was that in 1995 I opened the door of the first lactation practice in Amsterdam and since then I work full-time as a lactation consultant.

In recent years I have taken up traveling again and work abroad a few months a year. Encounters, stories, cultural differences broaden my horizons and a great source of inspiration. How are problems solved elsewhere? How does wealth, knowledge, culture, education or technology affect our behavior as parents or professionals? Despite the differences, babies worldwide speak the same language. Being able to understand it is the common thread, the way problems are solved may differ. 

After counseling over 20,000 parents and babies, I am still learning every day. No story is the same, every family is unique. It is special that every day I get to share my experience with parents and take advantage of opportunities.

Whether a baby is fed by bottle or breast. The important thing is that babies can drink in a relaxed way and develop a healthy sleep and wake cycle.

Often I feel like an interpreter-translator of the baby. That feels like a special privilege.