Top 7 Best Lactation Consultants in Akron, OH (2026)

Finding the best lactation consultants in Akron usually starts at 2am, mid cluster feed, with a latch that hurts and a baby who will not settle. Whether you delivered at Summa Health’s Akron Campus or Cleveland Clinic Akron General, the first weeks of feeding a newborn can feel like a lot. This guide covers lactation help for families in Highland Square, Fairlawn, Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Hudson and Barberton. The good news is that Akron has real feeding support at every price point, including options that cost nothing at all. Below are the picks we would send a friend to first in 2026, plus the free routes worth knowing about.

How Feeding Is Really Going for Akron Parents in 2026

Before the list, some context for why good feeding support matters so much. Most families start out breastfeeding, and most run into trouble faster than anyone warned them. National data shows about 83 percent of babies start out receiving breast milk, yet roughly 60 percent of mothers stop breastfeeding earlier than they intended, most often citing pain, latch trouble, or worries about supply.¹² Those are exactly the problems skilled lactation support is built to solve, and research links early professional support with families meeting their own feeding goals.³ For Akron parents, feeding struggles also spill straight into sleep, something we see clearly in our State of Baby Sleep report.

The Best Lactation Consultants in Akron at a Glance

• Summit Lactation: Akron-area families who want an IBCLC to come to the house and like clear published prices.
• Soulful Lactation: families who want an IBCLC at home and hope to use Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna or VA benefits.
• Cleveland Clinic Akron General Lactation Support: families who delivered at Akron General or want a hospital IBCLC and a monthly group with baby scales.
• Akron Children’s Breastfeeding Medicine: families with medical questions on top of feeding, such as preemies, multiples, low supply, breast surgery or slow weight gain.
• Summa Health Breastfeeding Mothers Group: any parent who wants a no-cost group with lactation consultants and a baby scale.
• Summit County Public Health WIC: income-eligible families who want feeding support and a breast pump option along with food benefits.
• Betteroo: Best for the sleep side of feeding. Personalized baby-sleep support for when the latch is fixed but the nights still are not.

How We Picked the Best Lactation Consultants in Akron

We started with a pool of more than 20 Akron-area lactation consultants, feeding clinics, and community programs surfaced from professional directories, hospital systems, and local parent recommendations. From there we narrowed to providers that met four criteria: they hold a clinical lactation credential (IBCLC wherever possible, the highest certification in the field), they have an active Akron practice in 2026, they are transparent about pricing and what is publicly funded before you book, and they have a track record of families vouching for them. We were not paid to include anyone on this list, and there are no affiliate arrangements.

1. Summit Lactation: Best overall

Summit Lactation is a private lactation practice run by Anne Raley, BSN, RN, IBCLC, that serves Summit, Medina and Cuyahoga counties. Her site says she is a registered nurse and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant who has supported families with infant feeding since 2016. She worked as an oncology nurse before her first child was born, and she is a mom of four. A consult covers health and birth history, a breast exam, an oral assessment of your baby, a feeding observation at the breast or bottle, flange sizing and a plan for the next few days. She also sends a written report to your healthcare provider.

To book, use the Book a Consult button on the site, call 330-253-8014 or email hello@summitlactation.com with your baby’s age, your location and when you would like to be seen. A single initial consult is $200 and each follow-up is $150, and every consult comes with one week of email support. Weekly in-home packages are $850 for 6 weeks, $1,150 for 8 weeks and $1,750 for 12 weeks. The practice is not in-network with any insurance company, but it gives you a superbill to send to your plan, and reimbursement varies, so confirm with your plan first. One tip: the services page still has a line saying visits are virtual for now, so ask whether your visit will be at home or online when you book.

Best for: Akron-area families who want an IBCLC to come to the house and like clear published prices.

2. Soulful Lactation: Best for home visits

Soulful Lactation is a private lactation practice based in Medina that sends an IBCLC to homes across Summit County. Founder Lexi Schaefer, RN, BSN, IBCLC, is a former Level III NICU nurse and hospital lactation consultant, and the site lists her as the consultant for Summit, Medina, Wayne, Ashland, Lorain and Cuyahoga counties. A second consultant, Elizabeth “Liz” Prince, RN, BSN, IBCLC, covers Portage, Geauga, Lake and Cuyahoga counties, and services include prenatal visits, latch help, pumping and flange sizing, and bottle support. The site says the practice is guided by Christian faith and welcomes families of every background. It also focuses on tongue and lip ties and shares its office with a chiropractor; ties are a debated area and the evidence for chiropractic care in babies is limited, so ask questions and feel free to get a second opinion.

Book online through the practice’s Jane scheduling page, or call 330-238-3024 during office hours, listed as Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Self-pay rates for an initial postpartum consult are $200 at home, $150 in the Medina office and $120 by video. The site lists Cigna through Wildflower Health, and UnitedHealthcare, select Aetna plans and VA benefits through The Lactation Network, and it reminds families that they are responsible for any charges a plan does not pay. Coverage varies, so confirm with your plan. One tip: use the county map on the site to check that in-home visits reach your address before you book.

Best for: families who want an IBCLC at home and hope to use Cigna, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna or VA benefits.

3. Cleveland Clinic Akron General Lactation Support: Best hospital option

Cleveland Clinic Akron General runs a lactation service staffed by internationally board certified lactation consultants who see families in the hospital and after they go home. The hospital’s page says it is Summit County’s only designated Baby-Friendly birth facility. Consulting hours vary by day and include some evenings and weekends. Cleveland Clinic lists Akron General as a site for one-on-one outpatient lactation appointments, with help for latching difficulties, nipple pain, low supply or oversupply, and pumping or returning to work. The page does not name individual staff or say whether you must have delivered there, so ask when you call.

For a consult after you go home, call the lactation specialists at 330.344.5705, which Cleveland Clinic also lists as the Akron lactation helpline. Fees are not posted, and coverage varies, so confirm with your plan. Akron General also runs breastfeeding support groups led by certified lactation consultants, with infant scales and hands-on help. One meets the second Thursday of the month from 2 to 4 p.m. at 676 South Broadway Street, and one meets the fourth Monday from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Akron General Health and Wellness Center in Bath, 4125 Medina Road. The hospital describes the groups as free and asks you to register on the Cleveland Clinic events calendar before you come.

Best for: families who delivered at Akron General or want a hospital IBCLC and a monthly group with baby scales.

4. Akron Children’s Breastfeeding Medicine: Best for complex cases

Akron Children’s Breastfeeding Medicine is a hospital program led by Carly Dulabon, MD, IBCLC, NABBLM-C, a pediatrician who is board certified in breastfeeding and lactation medicine. The hospital launched the program in February 2024 and says Dr. Dulabon is one of 100 physicians in the United States with that board certification. The team also includes Kirstin Fortune, a nurse practitioner and IBCLC, along with nurse lactation consultants and counselors. The page lists help with low supply or oversupply, painful feeding, slow weight gain, thrush, breast infection and complex medication schedules. It also offers prenatal visits to plan for premature babies, multiples, babies with medical conditions and breastfeeding after breast surgery.

Call 330-543-2778 for appointments, or use the Make an Appointment button on the department page, which lets you schedule with or without MyChart. The main Akron office is on Level 5 of the Considine Professional Building at 215 West Bowery Street, with parking in the P1 Bowery deck at 199 W. Bowery Street. The program also lists offices in Barberton and Boston Heights, plus more across Northeast Ohio. Fees are not posted, and coverage varies, so confirm with your plan and ask about your cost when you schedule. One tip: hours vary by provider and location, so ask which office has the soonest opening.

Best for: families with medical questions on top of feeding, such as preemies, multiples, low supply, breast surgery or slow weight gain.

5. Summa Health Breastfeeding Mothers Group: Best free option

Summa Health’s Breastfeeding Mothers Group is a free support group at the Akron Campus led by Summa’s childbirth educators and certified lactation consultants. You can bring your questions and concerns about feeding, and you can weigh your baby to see how things are going. It is also a chance to meet other breastfeeding mothers and trade ideas and wins. The page does not list staff names or say that you must have delivered at Summa, so ask when you call. For a complex feeding problem, a one-on-one visit may be a better fit than a group.

Call 330.375.4271 to register. The page says sessions are offered throughout the week and that days and times vary, so the phone call is how you get the current schedule. The group meets at the Women’s Health Center, 75 Arch Street, Suite B3, and participants gather in the hallway outside Suite B1. Park in the 75 Arch Street garage next door and bring your parking stub to be validated. For help at any hour, the same Summa page points to the Ohio Department of Health breastfeeding hotline at 888.588.3423, which is free and answered around the clock by trained lactation professionals.

Best for: any parent who wants a no-cost group with lactation consultants and a baby scale.

6. Summit County Public Health WIC: Best for WIC families

Summit County Public Health runs the local WIC program, which gives breastfeeding education and support to enrolled families at six clinics. The program’s pages list breastfeeding education, promotion and support, an enhanced food package for exclusively breastfeeding women and their infants, and manual or electric breast pumps for mothers who qualify. WIC also offers nutrition education and referrals for prenatal and pediatric care. It serves pregnant women, breastfeeding and postpartum mothers, infants and children up to age five who live in Ohio and meet income guidelines. Staff breastfeeding credentials are not listed on the site.

For an appointment, call (330) 375-2142 or use the Request WIC Appointment button on the site. The West Akron clinic at 1867 W. Market Street, the Arlington Plaza clinic at 1400 S. Arlington Street and the Stow clinic at 739 Graham Road are open Monday to Friday, each with one later evening a week. The downtown clinic at Akron Children’s is open Thursdays only, Barberton is Tuesdays only, and Twinsburg opens the first Wednesday of the month. There is no charge for WIC participants. One tip: the site says to check the Summit County WIC Facebook or Instagram page for the latest hours and alerts before you go.

Best for: income-eligible families who want feeding support and a breast pump option along with food benefits.

7. Betteroo: Best for the Sleep Side of Feeding

A quick note of transparency: Betteroo is us. We are including ourselves last and clearly labeled, because a lactation consultant and a sleep plan solve two different halves of the same exhausting problem. The feeding half belongs to the experts above. The half that keeps going after the latch is fixed, the night wakings, the feed-to-sleep habit, the schedule that never settles, is the part we built Betteroo for.

Feeding and sleep are tangled together in the first year. Cluster feeds shift bedtime, night feeds shape night wakings, and weaning changes everything again. Betteroo gives you a personalized, gentle baby-sleep plan that adapts to your child and your situation, including how you feed. For Akron parents crawling along I-77 or Route 8 with a newborn who feeds every two hours, it factors in the realities of your week, not a one-size-fits-all schedule. Many families pair the two: book Summit Lactation or Soulful Lactation to sort out feeding, and use Betteroo to finally get everyone sleeping. You can learn more in our guide to the best sleep training apps.

What to know: Betteroo is not a lactation service and does not replace an IBCLC. If feeding itself is the problem, start with one of the consultants above.

Best for: Tired parents whose feeding questions are answered but whose nights still need work.

Where Lactation Consultants in Akron See Families

Lactation support comes in three formats: home visits (the consultant comes to you, usually within a set radius), office or clinic visits, and telehealth. Here is roughly how the options above cluster across Akron.

Downtown and Central Akron

Most of the hospital-based help sits close to downtown. Akron Children’s Breastfeeding Medicine is on Level 5 of the Considine Professional Building at 215 West Bowery Street, and Summit County Public Health WIC runs a Thursday clinic at Akron Children’s, 214 W. Bowery Street. The Summa Health Breastfeeding Mothers Group meets at the Women’s Health Center at 75 Arch Street on Summa’s Akron Campus. Cleveland Clinic Akron General is at 1 Akron General Ave., and one of its monthly support groups meets at 676 South Broadway Street. Summit Lactation and Soulful Lactation both list Summit County for home visits, so neither needs you to drive downtown.

West Akron, Fairlawn and Bath

Summit County Public Health WIC has its West Akron clinic at 1867 W. Market Street. Cleveland Clinic Akron General holds a support group on the fourth Monday of the month at its Health and Wellness Center in Bath, 4125 Medina Road. Summit Lactation names Fairlawn, Copley, Bath and Richfield in its home visit area. Soulful Lactation has its office farther west in Medina and sends an IBCLC to homes in Summit County. Akron Children’s Breastfeeding Medicine and the Summa Health group are a drive back into central Akron.

Cuyahoga Falls, Stow and Hudson

Summit Lactation lists Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Tallmadge, Hudson, Twinsburg and Macedonia among the places it serves. Summit County Public Health WIC has a clinic at 739 Graham Road in Stow for Stow and Cuyahoga Falls families, plus a Twinsburg clinic that opens the first Wednesday of the month. Akron Children’s Breastfeeding Medicine sees patients at its Boston Heights health center, 328 East Hines Hill Road, in the north end of the county. Soulful Lactation covers Summit County with home visits and offers virtual visits statewide. The Summa Health group and the Akron General lactation service are both in Akron, so plan for the drive south.

Barberton, Green and South Akron

Akron Children’s Breastfeeding Medicine lists a Barberton office at 566 Robinson Ave. Summit County Public Health WIC has a Barberton clinic at 542 W. Tuscarawas Avenue on Tuesdays and a larger clinic at Arlington Plaza, 1400 S. Arlington Street, in South Akron. Cleveland Clinic Akron General uses its Green wellness center for classes, but its breastfeeding groups meet in Akron and Bath. Summit Lactation and Soulful Lactation both serve Summit County, so ask each one about travel to your address. The Summa Health group is at the Akron Campus on Arch Street.

How Much Do Lactation Consultants in Akron Cost?

The takeaway: check what is already covered before assuming you have to pay out of pocket. Many Akron families get skilled IBCLC support at little or no cost, and the free community options are genuinely good for everyday questions. Pay privately when you need speed, a home visit, or a specific specialist.

What to Expect at Your First Lactation Consult

If you have never seen a lactation consultant, it helps to know what a good first visit looks like, and what to sort out before you book.

What actually happens during the visit?

A thorough first consult runs 60 to 90 minutes. Expect a full history, a weighted feed (baby is weighed before and after nursing to measure intake), a hands-on latch and positioning assessment, and a written care plan you can actually follow. You should leave with specific next steps, not general encouragement.

Should I check my insurance first?

Yes. Ask the consultant whether they bill your plan directly, work through a coverage network, or provide a superbill you can submit for reimbursement. A two-minute call to your insurer before booking can turn a 300 dollar visit into a covered one.

What should I have ready?

Your pump and its parts if pumping is part of the picture, a rough log of recent feeds and diapers, and your questions written down. If it is a home visit, nothing needs to be tidy. Consultants have seen it all, and they would rather see your real setup.

What does follow up look like?

Ask before you book, because this is where a lot of the value sits. Some consultants include a week or two of text and email support, others charge per follow up visit. In the first days after a plan changes, being able to send a quick question matters more than almost anything else.

What happens if things are not better in a week?

A good consultant has a clear answer: a follow up visit, a revised plan, or a referral on to your pediatrician or healthcare provider, an ENT or dentist for a suspected tie, or a feeding therapist. If the answer is vague, or if you are told to simply keep going, treat that as a signal to get a second opinion.

How to Choose the Right Lactation Consultant in Akron

Check the credential first

IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) is the gold standard: it requires clinical hours and a board exam. Other trained supporters do real, useful work too and are great for common questions, but for medical complexity, significant pain, or weight-gain concerns, look for the IBCLC letters and loop in your pediatrician or healthcare provider.

Match the format to the problem

A painful latch is much easier to fix when someone can see and adjust positioning in person, so home and office visits win for hands-on problems. Telehealth works well for supply questions, pumping plans, and follow-ups, and it is often the fastest appointment to get.

Ask about your specific situation

Tongue-tie assessments, NICU graduates, multiples, exclusive pumping, returning to work, weaning: consultants have different depths in each. Ask directly how often they see your situation. A good consultant will tell you honestly and refer you if someone else is a better fit.

When Free Support Might Be Enough

Not every feeding question needs a private consult. If feeding is basically working and you want reassurance, technique tweaks, or company, the free layer is genuinely strong: La Leche League meetings, WIC peer counselors if you qualify, hospital breastfeeding groups, and Baby Cafe style drop-ins. Book a private IBCLC when there is pain that is not improving, weight-gain concerns your pediatrician or healthcare provider has flagged, a suspected tongue-tie, or when you have tried the free routes for a week or two and things are not getting better. And if feeding is fine but nobody is sleeping, that is a different problem: start with our guides to baby sleep schedules by age and common sleep training methods, or read whether sleep training apps actually work before you pay for anything.

This guide is for general information only and is not medical advice. For concerns about your baby’s weight, feeding, or health, or your own, talk to your pediatrician or healthcare provider.

Frequently Asked Questions