Peggy Hinkle, IBCLC, PCD

We reached out to Peggy when a dear relative was struggling postpartum. We have seen such changes in both mom and baby since Peggy started coming over. She compassionately and graciously stepped in to (what felt to us like) a dire situation. She assessed, taught, diagnosed and began the family on the path towards addressing a physical issue with baby that was impacting many things including nursing. She modeled loving baby care and the change in the family was absolutely tangible. We are all so very relieved and delighted. Can not recommend Peggy’s care more highly.

We were so blessed to have had Peggy Hinkle support our family after the birth of our twin boys last fall. We used her for both postpartum doula services as well as lactation support.
Peggy is an enormous part of the reason that the postpartum period after my twins were born was one of the happiest times in my life. After a traumatic and scary first birth with my older son, who spent a good amount of time in the NICU, the experience this time around was relaxed, calm, and in the moment. With Peggy’s support and gentle guidance, I was able to recover from my c-​section, and become confident in caring for my babies, and just enjoy them. She knew when to step in and delegate, and she also knew when to step back and go with the flow. She played with my older son, who has some special needs, and helped him feel included. She cared for the babies, while I was able to spend regular mommy time with my older son, which was very important to me.
And after a bit of a rough start with nursing, nine months later, I am still nursing my twin boys!
Thanks, Peggy!

We had seen the IBCLC at the hospital when my son was a newborn, but I was really looking for someone to come to my home and be supportive and helpful with this whole process that was really difficult for us. And Peggy was willing to come all the way to Marin to meet with us and help us. We had been told that our son may have a tongue tie, but then others just shrugged it off, and the pediatrician recommended going to a specialist that was iffy about it, meanwhile breastfeeding continued to deteriorate. Peggy was such a wealth of knowledge about the topic, how if untreated it can affect so many other things in life, and which providers would be better to see about it. She also sent me so many resources about the topic, with links to videos, and forums. The entire time she was there to support my hand along the process, and follow-​up and check-​in, just because she cares. I highly recommend her for anyone with breastfeeding struggles and support.

What a nightmare breastfeeding has been. There’s so much nobody tells you, but like a dream come true, Peggy Hinkle saved the day.
I had a C-​Section because the amniotic fluid was causing an infection and raising baby’s heart rate. To be cautious, baby was put in NICU for 2 days. During this time, I wasn’t able to see my daughter as much in order to nurse and they were giving her formula. I was getting so many conflicting instructions from every nurse and doctor we came into contact with. Each one had a different way of nursing. After a few days, my nipples started to sting. We also found out that baby was gaining weight slowly so they suggested we see a lactation consultant.
I am so grateful we met Peggy. We called her and immediately set up an in home appointment. I was actually nervous about having to leave the house but as fate would have it, Peggy was conveniently located in Alameda, right near our house and able to come to our house immediately. She was so gentle and incredibly knowledgable. She was very sweet and compassionate towards my little girl. She weighed baby to make sure we could see how much she was drinking. She immediately assessed that baby has tongue tie. Which is a VERY common issue, in which the frenulum (the string thing under the tongue) is tight and restricts tongue movement. There is a lot more information here:
. It’s a big deal because it makes breast feeding difficult. It can also lead to speech problems later on. We are SO mad that BOTH the hospital and our pediatrician missed this diagnosis but Peggy assured us that it is SO common that most doctors don’t even look for this issue. We were a little concerned as to the direction this would take us in but she was very sympathetic and gave us all the information we needed. We did our own research and her information was dead on. She suggested that baby get a frenotomy sooner rather than later and suggested a few doctors who would perform the procedure. Against her suggestion, we saw Dr. Wallach at Alameda Pediatrics but she has no idea what she’s doing so please don’t go to her. We should have listened to Peggy. Peggy did a follow-​up visit to make sure things were going well and suggested an ENT in Fremont which we saw. The procedure was life changing. A lot better than Dr. Wallach. Peggy came to visit us again to make sure baby was feeding properly. She was there for us 100% of the way.
Peggy is a dedicated and compassionate woman. She was in constant contact with me via text and phone. As a new mom without a mother of her own, it was so amazing to have someone there for me to guide me. Peggy is there to help you be successful with breast feeding so you can provide your child with a lifetime of good health. Her prices are reasonable and she’s worth every penny. I highly recommend working with Peggy before you give birth, as well as after. Her knowledge is incredibly valuable and will help you and your baby breast feed the way nature intended it.

Peggy is AMAZING! We hired her for 3 months of postpartum work with our newborn twins, and she was absolutely wonderful. From the moment she arrived, she filled our home a sense of peace that does not come easily with newborns. As I recovered from a c-​section, Peggy cared for me AND the babies seamlessly. She taught me so much about having newborns, from how to feed them to bathing to getting them to nap. Peggy is a great teacher of breast-​feeing, and as breast-​feeding became increasingly difficult for me, Peggy supported me entirely with the (emotionally difficult) change of plan. I feel so grateful to have had Peggy as my postpartum doula, and recommend her highly to anyone whom just had a baby (or babies!).

I can’t imagine a better, more professional post partum doula. Peggy literally saved my life as a new single mother with recovering from a c section. I suffered from post partum hypertension. When my blood pressure went up to 170 I called the doctor and was told to come in. I had no one to help with my new born. I called peggy that sunday she showed up, took me to hospital, held my baby while i had all these test done, and stayed with me while i picked up my meds. Peggy was amazing. Her help is invaluable.

Peggy is absolutely wonderful — she saved my breastfeeding relationship with my son! During pregnancy, I planned on breastfeeding but didn’t expect the challenges that came with my decision. Within two weeks of nursing my son, I had deep cracks and fissures. I began to pump exclusively but found that the cracks were getting worse! By 3 months, I was ready to throw in the towel. Enter Peggy. She diagnosed my son’s tongue tie and showed me how to pump correctly to reduce the cracking. A little over a month later, I am exclusively breastfeeding my son — all thanks to Peggy! Can’t recommend her enough!

This review is long overdue. Peggy is a lifesaver.
After giving birth to a 9lb baby I was determined to breastfeed. Upon coming home from the hospital, we noticed that our baby didn’t pee as much. And when he did it was accompanied with orange/​rust crystals on his diaper — a sure sign of dehydration. That’s when we started to panic. I thought my son was getting enough milk because I was bfd’ing on cue. At this point, my nipples were raw and I was hurting a lot.
My baby was born Tuesday, I look at Lactation Consultants on Unilocal and found Peggy. I call her on Friday and she was at my doorstep on Sunday. Peggy introduced us to the world of tongue ties. My son had a lip and tongue tie that was hindering him from latching properly. Peggy endorsed the services of Dr. Yazdi and the next Tuesday, my son underwent a frenectomy. Problem solved.
Peggy did a follow up visit, she answered all of our questions and she definitely helped me out a lot when it came to engorgement and plugged duct issues. She went above and beyond my expectations. She is the best!

After 8weeks of painful breastfeeding and pointless visits to another lactation consultant, I reached out to Peggy as I was ready to quit nursing. She confirmed that my baby had a lip and tongue tie, something I had suspected she had but no other health professional had mentioned it despite my protests of pain and discomfort. She came to our house and really took the time to listen to me and offered me the support I needed when I was at my breaking point. We still have a ways to go in fixing the breastfeeding issues, but I feel so much more hopeful after having worked with Peggy. She is very knowledgable and I will recommend her to all my friends! She also offers a weekly drop-​in group for breastfeeding moms, check out her Facebook page for time/​location.

I was so fortunate to have worked with Peggy two years ago when I had my first son! I attended a breastfeeding support group she facilitated and also a new moms’ group where she provided lactation advice and support. Peggy’s practical, culturally-​sensitive approach helped me become a more confident breastfeeding mama (now on #2!). She listens carefully, guides gently, and follows up with resources/​research. I definitely recommend her services to new moms needing a lactation consultant.

I’ve known Peggy for 23 years she is a women who has always been passionate about the care and respect of life. She is intelligent, kind and highly skilled in her profession. She worked as a Doula for a family with twins that I provided childcare for, and the mother couldn’t say enough good things about the sound advice, support and resourcefulness that Peggy provided her in helping her with her twin newborns. I highly recommend Peggy to any mother searching for a Doula or Lactation Consultant.

Peggy is incredibly heart centered and skilled in her profession as a postpartum doula and a lactation consultant. She takes her job very seriously and it is a delight to meet someone so good at what they do.
I am blessed to have found Peggy at the right time. I was dealing with some serious challenges after just having given birth and not really having a plan for aftercare or support.
After making a few phone calls, first to La Leche, I realized I had a problem. My baby wasn’t wetting enough diapers or very alert at the time. Nor was I in a position to feed, because I was just in so much pain.
Peggy was luckily available in the same day for assistance – which I needed immediately. Initially I thought it was the doula side of Peggy I needed. She arrived and immediately helped my engorged breasts by implementing a protocol that I had only seen a link online for and needed help with. She insisted on feeding the baby with the milk that was leaking out of my breasts by finger feeding and measurement.
I quickly understood that my well being was linked with my baby’s and once my baby was happy, I would be too. Peggy’s lactation advisor skills took precedent. As a new mom, many people want to offer their suggestions and support and I had more than my share of people I was listening to. Peggy made it clear she wanted to be «my person» of authority and I am so grateful she made this suggestion. I quickly let everyone else’s opinions and insights go and developed trust with her advice and skill. This was VERY important.
My child’s health and vitality improved drastically by working with Peggy. We were working with elevated bilirubin which was undetected or minimized by the midwives at first and saw an amazing chiropractor thanks to her referral –Radiant Health in Alameda – which was absolutely a magical treatment and continued the progress.
Peggy was there to put us back on track realizing we had a rough start but that we could quickly steer in a better direction.
After 3 weeks my baby is back at his birth weight and we have his latching problem which would have been undetected— fixed!
Thanks to Peggy, we got the right assistance at the right time. Visiting the chiropractor was a necessity to my child at a critical phase as was getting the right referral to a dentist for the tongue tie amendment. We had what was considered a «minor» problem, but having it fixed has made ALL the difference.
Thank you Peggy!!!
Yay for babies and lactation consultants! And angels. Peggy’s a real life angel. She continues to be a reliable source and encyclopedia of trusted information sites. Maybe a little too much info at times, but hey, i’m not complaining.