Janet Fishstrom Dombro, IBCLC

Janet is AMAZING! I would describe her as friendly, calm, eclectic and leaning on the natural/​crunchy.
My wife and I were looking for someone who had experience working with lesbian couple who were planning on co-​nursing and Janet was recommended by a doula friend. She made us feel totally comfortable, was super informative, and came up with a plan we both felt comfortable with.
If there are any nongestational parents or lesbian couple looking do induce lactation or course I would HIGHLY recommend Janet. She is great!

This review is long overdue, as my daughter was born in jan 2012, and is now 3 years old. i was struggling so much with breastfeeding and even though i was seeking help from doctors, nurses and pediatricians nothing seemed to work. to make the matters worst my daughter was allergic to the formulas and had to take a special expensive horrible tasting formula which she only drank enough to survive,.
Then something wonderful happened, someone recommended Janet to us right when i was ready to give up breastfeeding due to numerous issues including supply, latch, etc. The money i paid her was the best money spent for my daughter and it was very reasonable.
She was the first one to diagnose her hidden tongue tie, show me the correct way to latch a new born, and recommend a doctor to fix the tongue tie issue. within 3, i was breastfeeding exclusively, and my daughter started thriving. we just weaned after 3 years of wonderful breasfeeding years,
Thank you Janet for your help without you it would have been impossible,
a very grateful mother.

wow… where do i begin with this women. She is my WORST find on Unilocal
I made the mistake of having her come home to help me after I had my baby — 3 days after my c-​section. She was awful.
My baby was perfect drinking in football position and we were doing great… foolish me though I could have Janet come home and help me do even better.
Noooooo. She stroll in with her big bag, my baby was hungry, she tortured the poor baby trying to get her to drink in a different position, after 30 minutes of agony and NO help, I fed my baby my regular football position.
I thought the worst was over… but wait, Janet pulls out a set of pictures with severe disability on their mouth and recommends to me that my 3 day old baby has sever tongue-​tie and recommended that I see her friend dentist for a jaw surgery and other horrible recommendation about her needing speech therapy or she might have speech impairment. I was too ill from my csection and sleeplessness… i was furious, held everything to myself and asked her to let herself out.
She spent 30 minutes torturing me and my baby and wanted to spend 60 minutes so that I can pay her in full… i wanted to pay her in full and get her out of my house ASAP.
I met with my babies pediatrician and lactation consultant a day after this lady left from the hospital and my baby has no tongue tie no need for any jaw surgery NOTHING. I have been breast feeding my baby for over 6 months with NO problem.
My pediatrician recommended that I send a lawyer notice to Janet as she is NOT a doctor and CANNOT make such false claims and recommendations to patients and ruin their lives.
MOM’S beware of where you ask for help

Janet is truly amazing. I just got off the phone with her requesting help with a sore breast at 6 months, and true to form, in a few minutes she shared a recommendation based on the latest research that is newer than the official recommendations for a plugged duct. She has such a breadth and depth of experience to draw upon, and she shares her insights in a really helpful way — it’s ultimately about listening to yourself, and deciding for yourself. She’s not dogmatic at all. She helped us from the early days with a home visit, and has taken many of our phone calls over the months as breastfeeding has evolved. I don’t know what we would have done without her. One last thing — when we first hired her, we were concerned about our daughter’s weight gain. She really helped us when we were very stressed (which is often the case with breastfeeding).

Janet is amazing! I called her for advise on transitioning to a bottle part-​time and she had some great suggestions and responded in the same day. I will absolutely use her services again if I have any further lactation or bottle troubles.

Janet is amazing. She is highly educated and experienced. Her insight is helpful and supportive. She provides the calm assurance that many new and experienced moms may need. I recommend her to anyone and everyone. Thanks Janet!

We have consulted with Janet twice. First and second baby. We kept her business card on our fridge for 3 years! Now, we just had our second baby, we consulted with her again. Janet is wonderful. Personable, helpful and friendly.
She listens to you and provides appropriate feedback. I also called her after house visits when I had some questions about nursing. She is always happy to help me and call me back in a timely manner and not rushing to end our conversation.
I am thankful to all of her help. She is a wonderful resource for mothers.

Janet is a great resource for struggling breastfeeding moms. I originally met her at a Breastfeeding Basics class she taught at Harmony, and, while I got a lot out of the class, I felt like it was overloaded with more information than one session could handle and left feeling overwhelmed. In fact, during the class, I asked if she could provide handouts of the info, and she nicely sent them all to us after the class was done (via email).
So, when I had my baby a couple of months later, I was astonished at how difficult breastfeeding was. It was THE biggest surprise about having a baby. Every book I read made it sound so natural and easy. It wasn’t. And it hurt like hell. But I am SO glad that I called Janet after considering giving it up. Because, without her help and support (and multiple visits/​phone calls/​emails later), I wouldn’t have breastfed my daughter more than a couple of weeks. I just weaned her last week and she is over a year old now. I am shocked and amazed that I was able to get through the first month, let alone nurse for over a year (!) and I think I was only able to do so because Janet gave me some helpful tips and sold me some supplies that aided in my issues getting resolved or almost resolved.
I do think that her approach may put some people off as she is very honest, direct, and doesn’t hold back, but I actually appreciated this about her. She does seem like she could be a tiny bit disorganized, but she’s a Mom, so now that I am a Mom, I get why she could be (so for those reviewers who expect her to be 100% on her game 100% of the time, that’s maybe a little high in the expectation category). I found her to be on the ball, though, with me, so I have no complaints about that personally.
Would definitely use her again and would, without question, recommend her to another mom in need.
Oh, and Flex plans cover the cost if your insurance company won’t. That’s a nice bonus.

Janet was very helpful and answered all of my questions when she came to my house! I e-​mailed her the next day and she responded very quickly, and answered more questions that I had.
If you have questions about breast feeding or are struggling with breast feeding do not hesitate to call Janet! She came out the next day and was great with my son!
I highly recommend her!

After using other lactation consultants, it was recommended that I use Janet as she was a great lactation consultant.
Frankly we weren’t terribly impressed.
She was professional, arrived on time and was also agreeable to changing our agenda around based on my daughter’s nursing schedule.
The information she gave was pretty standard and wasn’t anything new.
She INSISTED that I pull my top all the way over my head, which I was not comfortable doing, but she proceeded to tell me «This is the way other mother’s do it» ruining my top and making me EXTREMELY uncomfortable.
She stated my daughter most likely had a problem with her tongue (incorrect) and that she might need surgery (incorrect).
In general, the main problem we had with Janet is that she seemed scripted, and if we asked her any questions outside of her scope of expertise she refused to answer, even to hazard a guess.
I would recommend her to a new mother who never had any lactation help before, but I would not recommend her to a mother who had previous knowledge of lactation problems/​issues and was searching for more expertise.

Janet is a 5 star lactation consultant. She comes to your home for the consultation on time, and spent extra time that she didn’t charge. She emailed and gave me information and provided a lot of tips and support. I found her through a friend who found her through Blossom Birth. I then referred her to 2 more friends who loved her. She will take follow up calls and emails without charge. I highly highly recommend her!

Janet is a great resource and was very helpful with all my Breastfeeding concerns. She returned my call within the day and set up an appointment to do a home visit that week. As a new mom, I had many concerns about nursing. Janet helped to reassure me, show me different methods of holding the baby while nursing, and gave me great tips to ensure I was successful at nursing. What made me feel most reassured was the scale she brought, which showed how much my baby was feeding from me! That was a great tool to let me know that my baby was actually getting what she needs! I highly recommend Janet, especially if you are a new mom who is unsure about breastfeeding! Janet’s visit was not covered by my insurance, but it was worth every penny to have her come out!

I rarely write reviews for services because I am generally not as engaged in the process as compared to my dining at restaurants; but I really want to give my praises to Janet.
I was doing ok but was looking for some help to make the nursing process more efficient and comfortable.
Janet was great! She was recommended by a friend of mine who recently used her. I called her Sunday evening and she showed up the next day at 10AM. She was knowledgeable and understanding and provided a ton of good tips that were customized to my needs. I know there are a ton of books/​sites out there but Janet was able to tell me what was most relevant for my situation.
She’s also reasonable in pricing and she was worth way more than she charged.
I highly recommend her to all new moms!

oh lawd, i’m Unilocaling about breast feeding. who have i become? men and the faint of heart just turn and walk away right now.
i had no idea just how well i would take to the idea of breast feeding, i always knew i’d give it the old college try, but i had no freaking clue i’d be hiring lactation consultants, be taking about 37 different herbal supplements and be reading «lactation forums»… my issue is that i gave birth to a giant baby, who is an awesome latcher but who’s also a lazy feeder (how i gave birth to a kid who’s number one priority is not eating i have no idea) so in order to get help increasing and keeping my supply, i called janet right away and she came out the next morning. she was friendly, made me feel totally comfortable and with 20 plus years of experience really knew her stuff. she gave me some great advice with regards to latch and position and left me with an action plan to keep my supply up that is already working. she was worth three times what she charged and i wouldn’t hesitate to call her again!
yay for boobies!

The Kaiser lactation consultants were okay but I needed extra help and called Janet (who was recommended by a friend). Janet is a fabulous lactation consultant who makes house calls, and she really helped me and some of my friends.
I spent about $ 80 (plus a little extra for being outside of her South Bay area) for one house call, and it was some of the best money I ever spent.
Nursing wasn’t totally easy or natural for me. Janet helped me with some simple suggestions (I ended up not needing to use the Brest Friend or Boppy, though I still chose to sometimes) that made a world of difference. I ended up feeling much more comfortable (not so much pain in shoulders/​neck) nursing without props.
I pulled out a digital camera and had her take pictures of what I’d learned so I wouldn’t forget.
Our son used to cry when we bathed him. Janet suggested that one of us (mom or dad) bathe with him. It made all the difference — he ended up really relaxing and enjoying baths. Now it’s one of his favorite things to do.
Janet was very positive and made an incredible difference in our family life!
I Googled her, and found this little bio:
«Janet has enjoyed helping moms and babies breastfeed since 1988, originally through La Leche League and now as a private practice lactation consultant in the Santa Clara Valley. She can help you with breastfeeding either in her office or at your home depending on the situation. Janet has nursed her own five children including twins and truly knows the joys of motherhood as well as the challenges.»