To help ease one of the most common anxieties of early motherhood – navigating breastfeeding – Novant Health offers free support sessions, open to all community members who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
These meetings, called Baby Cafe, are part of a nationwide network. The goal is to give moms the professional lactation support they need while also building peer connections.
'I was so insecure and nervous as a new mom'
Anida Kleege, who lives in Winston-Salem, began attending Baby Cafes when her daughter, Holland, was 4 weeks old.
“Going to a Baby Café was my first trek out into the world, which was great because I was so insecure and nervous as a new mom. I was anxious of people scrutinizing my actions during a vulnerable time in our lives when I was still figuring things out,” Kleege said.
And Kleege isn't alone, said Belinda Phillips, a lactation consultant with Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center in Bolivia.
“When I had babies, they just kind of handed you the baby and smiled and said, ‘OK, good luck with that!’” Phillips said, laughing. “One of the reasons I do what I do is that every mom should be able to have the answers to be successful in breastfeeding.”
Giving moms reassurance
Learning to breastfeed can take time, practice and patience. Giving moms reassurance is what Baby Cafe is all about.
“A lot of your breastfeeding success is your self confidence that you are doing it well and that you are doing it correctly," Phillips said. "We’re also building a community of moms. It’s a way for these women to find the support they need, but it’s also backed up by a lactation professional. The combination of the two is just unbeatable."
Join us for Baby Café
Baby Café is a free group that provides support for each mom’s breastfeeding journey. Sessions are open to community members who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and attendees can drop in at any time during the sessions. You’re invited to meet with other parents, ask questions with lactation specialists, socialize and share tips.
Novant Health provides:
- Professional lactation support staff
- Refreshments
- Infant weight check
No registration is required and parking is free. Childcare is not provided but babies, siblings and spouses are welcome.
Novant Health Baby Café locations
Bolivia
Novant Health OB/GYN with Brunswick Medical Center
584 Hospital Drive, Suite B
Bolivia, NC 28422
Time: Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to noon
For more information, call 910-512-2064
Charlotte
Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center
200 Hawthorne Lane
Charlotte, NC 28204
Time: Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Park in the parking deck of Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center. Parking validation will be provided during the cafe. Take the elevator in the parking deck to the first floor to enter the hospital. Once inside, take the Women's Center elevators located behind the check-in desk to the eighth floor. The Baby Café location is behind the security desk.
For more information, call 704-384-7515
Kernersville
Kernersville Medical Center
1750 Kernersville Medical Pkwy
Kernersville, NC 27284
Time: Wednesdays, 10-11:30 a.m.
Enter through the main entrance of Kernersville Medical Center. Baby Café takes place on the fourth floor.
For more information, call 336-564-4071
Mint Hill
Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center
8001 Healthcare Loop
Charlotte, NC 28215
Time: Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Enter the main entrance of Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center. Baby Café will be held in Community Room No. 2 on the first floor.
For more information, call 704-384-7515
SouthPark
Novant Health Breastfeeding - SouthPark
6324 Fairview Road, Suite 470, fourth floor conference room
Charlotte, NC 28210
Time: Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
For more information, call 980-302-8835.
Thomasville
Novant Health Wellness and Education
203 Old Lexington Road
Thomasville, NC 27360
Time: Mondays, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
For more information, call 336-474-3253
Winston-Salem
Novant Health Community Education Room
3330 Healy Drive, Suite 102
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
Time: Thursdays
Morning in-person group: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Virtual group: 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Afternoon in-person group: 2:30-5 p.m.
For more information, call 336-718-5636
