About Us

Lactation Partners is a private practice of registered nurses (RN’s) who are board certified lactation consultants (IBCLC’s). We are committed to providing excellent clinical care to new mothers and babies in the Chicagoland area while supporting breastfeeding. We do this in mother’s homes and we provide follow up by phone, email, and our drop in clinic. Sometimes we do this by phone consultation only.

In that context we recognize that one of our primary roles is to educate moms about newborns and breastfeeding so that they can make informed decisions that are well considered. Another primary role is to provide logistical and emotional support to our clients as they navigate the very steep learning curve of the first 2-4 weeks of newborn life. Because mothers no longer live among other mothers the new mom today knows very little about the practical reality of breastfeeding. Because mothers no longer live in community, they lack the woman-to-woman support traditionally provided that held up the mother while she recovered from birth, learned her way through newborn care and breastfeeding, and shared the very labor intensive task of caring for a newborn in the first month of life, particularly, but for all of the 4th trimester, the first 3 months of life that constitute the newborn period.

We take the responsibility of supporting moms very seriously and believe we must support their health physically, mentally, and emotionally. We see our role as one who holds up new mothers, who nurtures new mothers, who educates new mothers, and who advocates for new mothers so that they have the energy freed up to care for their newborns and themselves.

We also feel a great responsibility for newborns who are poorly understood in today’s world. We know that their needs are quite demanding for new mothers but that their needs must be met. They must be fed around the clock, held a great deal, soothed while they transition state (from awake to asleep for example) or while managing the sensations of digestion, fatigue, or overstimulation. We know that developmentally their need is to grow and to attach to the adults that care for them and that the process of attachment takes 12 weeks, the length of the 4th trimester, and that the more their needs are met, the better these two goals will be achieved. We realize that caring for newborns and meeting their needs are exhausting and that mothers (and fathers) need a lot of education, practical support, emotional sensitivity and that they too are going through a tremendous transition to a new role, that of a parent, while adjusting to the great demands of caring for a newborn.

We recognize that we are one small part of a bigger team that includes OB/midwife, pediatrician, family, friends, and any other support providers required. Because we often see our patients once, we are limited in our capacity to launching breastfeeding or helping people overcome a specific hurdle. Things can change with time and what is useful at one moment in the breastfeeding relationship may not be appropriate at another moment. Therefore it is our goal that we support moms in the context of the time we work with them.


Judy Teibloom-Mishkin RN, BSN, IBCLC

Judy Teibloom-Mishkin, RN, IBCLC, has been professionally committed to supporting new families for 29 years. She currently works in private practice as a lactation consultant, and has done so for the last 25 years.

Her mission is to nurture mothers and fathers as they transition into their new roles as parents, so that they have the resources available to them to nurture their newborns. This is the doula model which she learned while working as a doula in private practice and in public health for 10 years. She is guided by the values of supporting maternal choice, providing practical strategies to surviving the exhaustion of the early days at home, and facilitating the process of attachment between parents and newborns.

"I feel honored to enter new families' homes at this critical time in their lives. My role is to educate, support, and accept new moms while they do the very hard work of parenting a newborn during the '4th trimester' so that they can find their own way on their journey."

Judy graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in political science, and from Northwestern University with a BS in nursing. She was board certified as a lactation consultant in 1992 has maintained her certification every 5 years since that time. She is a licensed RN in Illinois.

She is a mother of three boys which is never to be underestimated in contributing to her experience and wisdom! She never stops learning from her colleagues and most, importantly, from her clients, who teach her something new every day.

Elizabeth Sjoblom RN, BSN, IBCLC

Elizabeth has worked for over 13 years with new families in maternal child medicine and as a labor and delivery nurse at Prentice Northwestern Hospital. Working as an educator of breastfeeding, newborn care and childbirth since 2007 has extended her knowledge to guide and support new families. Appreciating the bumpy road many new parents travel while learning to care for their newborn, she recognized her passion to become a lactation consultant. Liz has been working with breastfeeding families as a private lactation consultant since 2010.

"I most enjoy private lactation consulting because I get the opportunity to work one on one with new moms and families in their homes. This is a very special time in their lives, but can also be overwhelming. I feel blessed to be able to reassure, educate and mentor new moms to feel empowered by this experience."

Elizabeth graduated from the University on Illinois with a BS in psychology and child development and from Elmhurst College with a BS in nursing in 2005. She was board certified in lactation (IBCLC) in 2010. She holds a current RN license in the state of Illinois.

Joan Kessler RN, LCCE, IBCLC

Joan has worked as a registered nurse, in the field of Maternal Child Health for 30 years. Her commitment to caring for new mothers and babies began as a Labor and Delivery Nurse. It was during those years in Labor and Delivery where Joan developed a deep trust in the labor and birth process, and gained great admiration for a woman's strength.

Following the birth of her children, Joan continued to work as a Maternal Child Nurse. She taught childbirth education classes for 14 years, and remains a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator. She is passionate about empowering mothers, through education, to make the choices that are best for themselves and their babies.

Her approach is compassionate and nurturing. With support, education, and guidance, Joan believes that a woman learns to trust her inner wisdom, as she transitions into her new role as a mother.

In 2012, Joan began working as a Certified Lactation Specialist, and in 2014 she achieved her IBCLC status. She enjoys the one to one support and guidance she provides to new mothers and families. In her role as an IBCLC, Joan believes in supporting maternal choice, and helping each family make feeding decisions that are best for them.

"I feel blessed and privileged to have shared in the beautiful, intimate experience of birth with so many couples over all these years. It has been a true joy of my life."

Joan graduated from Lutheran General's School of Nursing in 1987, and holds a current RN license in the state of Illinois. Joan has been married to Joel since 1993. They are parents to four children...Nathan, Emma, Seth, and Rebecca. She considers motherhood to be one of the greatest blessings of her life.