Top 7 Best Lactation Consultants in Brighton, UK (2026)

Finding the best lactation consultants in Brighton usually starts at 2am, mid cluster feed, with a latch that hurts and a baby who will not settle. Most Brighton and Hove babies are born at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Kemptown, and feeding help carries on after you go home through NHS family hubs, private lactation consultants and a free national helpline. Whether you live in Hove, Hanover, Preston Park, Whitehawk, Portslade or out towards Lewes and Shoreham, there is real support within reach. The good news is that Brighton 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 Brighton Parents in 2026

If you are feeding a baby right now, the numbers say you are in very good company, and that the hard part is normal. In England, 86 percent of mothers start breastfeeding.¹ By six weeks, 71 percent are still going,¹ and routine NHS health visiting data puts 55.6 percent of babies still breastfeeding at their six to eight week check.² That drop happens fast, and it is rarely about willpower. Among mothers who had stopped, 45 percent said their baby was not latching on and 44 percent felt they did not have enough milk.¹ More than half, 56 percent, had dealt with sore nipples or painful breasts.¹ Every one of those is something a skilled feeding professional can actually help with. For Brighton parents, feeding struggles also spill straight into sleep, something we see clearly in our State of Baby Sleep report.

The Best Lactation Consultants in Brighton at a Glance

• Brighton Breastfeeding: families who want two experienced IBCLCs, home visits and clear published prices.
• The Milky Life: parents in Hove and Portslade who want a midwife IBCLC to come to them, including for bottle and combination feeding.
• Specialist Infant Feeding Team, Brighton and Hove (Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust): Brighton and Hove families who want NHS specialist help for ongoing feeding problems close to home.
• Birth, Baby & You: families facing slow weight gain, suspected tongue-tie or other tricky feeding problems who want a very experienced midwife IBCLC.
• National Breastfeeding Helpline: night-time worries and quick questions when you need a kind voice right now.
• Royal Sussex County Hospital Maternity (University Hospitals Sussex): families giving birth at the Royal Sussex County Hospital who want feeding help from day one.
• 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 Brighton

We started with a pool of more than 20 Brighton-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 Brighton 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. Brighton Breastfeeding: Best overall

Brighton Breastfeeding is a private practice run by Zoe Faulkner and Anouk Lloyd, two IBCLC lactation consultants who are members of the Lactation Consultants of Great Britain and the International Lactation Consultants Association. They help with all areas of breastfeeding, from getting ready in pregnancy to the early days and more complex problems later on. A first visit can last up to 2 hours and includes a full feeding history, watching a whole feed and checking your baby’s mouth and sucking. You leave with a plan you agree on together, plus follow up that fits your needs. They also offer tongue-tie assessment and frenulotomy, which is an area where expert opinions differ, so it is worth asking plenty of questions first.

To book, email lc@brightonbreastfeeding.co.uk or text the consultant you would like to see, and they aim to reply within 24 hours. The first consultation is £105 in working hours or £130 for limited evening and weekend slots, with follow ups at £60 per hour. A package of three appointments with text and phone support costs £240. This is a private service, so the NHS does not cover it, and any private health plan cover varies, so confirm with your provider. If you live in central Brighton, travel is free, and it helps to mention a parking permit when you book.

Best for: families who want two experienced IBCLCs, home visits and clear published prices.

2. The Milky Life: Best for home visits

The Milky Life is the private practice of Carla Mastroianni, a registered midwife, neonatal nurse and IBCLC lactation consultant based in Brighton and Hove. She qualified as a midwife in 2012 and now also works as a neonatal nurse at the Trevor Mann Baby Unit in Brighton, so she is used to small and early babies. She helps with latch problems, pumping, milk supply, combination feeding and bottle feeding. She is also a tongue-tie practitioner, though tongue-tie treatment is a debated area and not every baby needs a procedure. Sessions happen at her Hove clinic or in your home.

You can book online through her website, or message 07933 766324 or email TheMilkyLife7@gmail.com. A feeding support consultation starts at £110 in her standard postcodes and from £165 further out, with parking added if needed. Online antenatal sessions cost £50, and there is a 10% discount on a second appointment booked within 2 weeks. The NHS does not fund this service, and private health plan cover varies, so confirm with your provider. If you already know your baby has a tongue-tie, send her a WhatsApp message when you book so she can share the right information.

Best for: parents in Hove and Portslade who want a midwife IBCLC to come to them, including for bottle and combination feeding.

3. Specialist Infant Feeding Team, Brighton and Hove (Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust): Best NHS option

The Specialist Infant Feeding Team is an NHS service for Brighton and Hove families, made up of lactation consultants, breastfeeding specialists and peer support coordinators. It works with health visitors as part of the Healthy Child Programme and follows UNICEF Baby Friendly standards. The team runs MILK drop-ins at family hubs across the city, where trained peer supporters help with feeding questions and specialists step in when needed. For complex or ongoing feeding problems, it also offers one to one appointments with a breastfeeding specialist or lactation consultant.

You can refer yourself by turning up at a MILK drop-in, through your health visitor, or by emailing sc-tr.infantfeedingteambandh@nhs.net. The team’s phone line is 01273 666 485, open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Drop-ins run on Monday at Hangleton, Tuesday at Moulsecoomb, Wednesday at Whitehawk, Thursday at Conway Court in Hove and Friday at Tarner, and you can go to whichever suits you. There is no charge, as it is an NHS service for Brighton and Hove residents. The page says there is no current waiting list, but check times before you go, as groups do not run on bank holidays.

Best for: Brighton and Hove families who want NHS specialist help for ongoing feeding problems close to home.

4. Birth, Baby & You: Best for complex cases

Birth, Baby & You is led by Dee Bell, a registered midwife, IBCLC and specialist tongue-tie practitioner who lives near Brighton. She worked in the NHS for over 16 years and has spent many years focused on infant feeding and tongue-tie. She helps with poor latch, sore nipples, slow weight gain, low supply or oversupply, mastitis, feeding twins and expressing. Her tongue-tie service is for babies up to 6 months, and she notes that a frenulum alone does not mean a baby is tongue-tied. Tongue-tie treatment is a debated area, so a careful assessment first is sensible.

You can book through the website, call 07754 020143, or email admin@birthbabyandyou.co.uk. A face to face feeding session with Dee costs £195, and a tongue-tie assessment with feeding support is also £195, rising to £265 if a release is done in the same visit. Brighton clinic days are Wednesdays in Saltdean, with an emergency Brighton clinic at £285. The NHS does not fund these visits, and private health plan cover varies, so confirm with your provider. If travel is hard, a Zoom session with one of her Infant Feeding Coaches is £85.

Best for: families facing slow weight gain, suspected tongue-tie or other tricky feeding problems who want a very experienced midwife IBCLC.

5. National Breastfeeding Helpline: Best free option

The National Breastfeeding Helpline offers free, friendly and non-judgemental feeding support to anyone in the UK who needs it. It is run by two charities, the Breastfeeding Network and the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers. The helpline is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with a night service added since 2024. Support is also available in Welsh, Polish, Bengali and Sylheti, and for people with hearing or speech impairments.

Call 0300 100 0212 at any time, with no booking and no referral needed. There is no fee for the support itself. It is a good first call at 3am when you are unsure whether something is normal. The helpline gives information and support, not a hands-on assessment, so if pain or weight worries continue, speak to your midwife, health visitor or GP. Keep the number saved in your phone before your baby arrives.

Best for: night-time worries and quick questions when you need a kind voice right now.

6. Royal Sussex County Hospital Maternity (University Hospitals Sussex): Best hospital option

The Royal Sussex County Hospital in Kemptown is Brighton’s main birth hospital, run by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. Its maternity service is part of the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative, which sets evidence-based standards for feeding support. Midwives, maternity support workers and breastfeeding peer supporters help with feeding on the postnatal ward. The trust also runs Flying Start, a set of six conversations about feeding and caring for your baby.

After you go home, the hospital lists its community midwives on 01273 664794 as the feeding contact for families who gave birth there. There is no charge, as this is NHS care. Ask on the ward about hand expressing and how to reach help once you are home. For longer term help, your health visitor can link you to the Brighton and Hove Specialist Infant Feeding Team. If your baby is in the Trevor Mann Baby Unit, ask the unit team about expressing support.

Best for: families giving birth at the Royal Sussex County Hospital who want feeding help from day one.

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 Brighton parents climbing Hanover’s steep hills or catching the bus along the seafront 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 Brighton Breastfeeding or The Milky Life 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 Brighton 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 Brighton.

Kemptown, Whitehawk and the east of the city

The Royal Sussex County Hospital sits on Eastern Road in Kemptown, and its maternity unit is where most local families first get help with feeding. The NHS Specialist Infant Feeding Team is based nearby at Tarner Family Hub on Ivory Place, with a Friday MILK drop-in there and a Wednesday drop-in at Whitehawk Family Hub. Further east along the coast, Dee Bell of Birth, Baby & You runs her Brighton clinic in Saltdean on Wednesdays. Brighton Breastfeeding and The Milky Life both visit homes in this part of the city (BN2 is inside The Milky Life’s standard area). The National Breastfeeding Helpline is there by phone at any hour, wherever you live.

Hanover, Preston Park and central Brighton

Central Brighton is home turf for Brighton Breastfeeding, which lists free travel for home visits within central Brighton. The Milky Life also covers the BN1 and BN2 postcodes at its standard price. On Tuesday mornings, an NCT and peer support led group meets at Hanover Community Centre on Southover Street, listed on the NHS infant feeding team’s timetable. The Tarner Family Hub, home of the NHS infant feeding team, is a short walk from the city centre. If you need a tongue-tie assessment, Birth, Baby & You’s Saltdean clinic is a drive east along the coast road.

Hove, Hangleton and Portslade

The Milky Life’s Carla Mastroianni offers feeding sessions at her Hove clinic, and her standard area includes BN3, BN41 and BN42, which covers Hove and Portslade. The NHS MILK drop-ins in the west of the city run on Mondays at Hangleton Family Hub and on Thursdays at Conway Court on Clarendon Road in Hove. Brighton Breastfeeding also visits homes here, with mileage charged outside central Brighton. The Royal Sussex County Hospital’s community midwives cover families after birth, and the National Breastfeeding Helpline is open around the clock. Birth, Baby & You also offers Zoom follow ups, handy if you would rather not travel across town.

Lewes, Shoreham and the wider Sussex area

If you live beyond the city, The Milky Life lists Lewes, Shoreham (BN43), Worthing, Burgess Hill and Hassocks as out of area, with prices from £165. Brighton Breastfeeding covers Brighton and the surrounding areas of Sussex, charging £1 per mile outside central Brighton, and also offers video consultations. Birth, Baby & You runs a second clinic in Tunbridge Wells on Fridays, alongside the Saltdean clinic. The NHS Specialist Infant Feeding Team and its MILK drop-ins serve Brighton and Hove residents, so families in Lewes or Shoreham should ask their own health visitor about local groups. The National Breastfeeding Helpline (0300 100 0212) works the same anywhere in the UK.

How Much Do Lactation Consultants in Brighton Cost?

The takeaway: check what is already covered before assuming you have to pay out of pocket. Many Brighton 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 try the NHS route first?

For most families, yes. Your midwife, health visitor and local NHS infant feeding team can watch a full feed, check latch and positioning and weigh your baby, at no cost. Book privately when you need someone this week, want a longer unhurried session, or the NHS route has not resolved things.

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 GP, health visitor, or midwife, 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 Brighton

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 GP, health visitor, or midwife.

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: your NHS infant feeding team and health visitor, your hospital infant feeding service, the National Breastfeeding Helpline on 0300 100 0212, and local Breastfeeding Network, NCT and La Leche League GB groups. Book a private IBCLC when there is pain that is not improving, weight-gain concerns your GP, health visitor, or midwife 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 GP, health visitor, or midwife.

Frequently Asked Questions