MELANIE ACON, MA, IBCLC
Owner and Operator
Serving Culpeper, VA and surrounding areas
Hello! Thanks for stopping in! My name is Melanie Acon and I am the owner and operator of Bee Nourished Lactation Services. I am married, have four children all of who were and are breastfed/breastmilk fed and live in Culpeper, VA!
My vision for a private practice for lactation consulting began many years ago after struggling to breastfeed my first child. I had minimal support and was faced with a lot of obstacles during the entire 12 months I breastfed. Once my son turned 12 months, I let out a huge sigh of relief and thought to myself “WOW no one else should ever have to go through that alone.” That is when I realized I wanted to dedicate my career to being a part of the solution for the lack of lactation support available to breastfeeding families.
In 2017, I began the pathway II program to IBCLC at Union Institute and University. I earned a Master of Arts degree in Health and Wellness with a special concentration in Human Lactation in 2019. During the program I spent eight months in an internship working directly with a RN, IBCLC on the post-partum floor of WVU Berkeley Medical Center in Martinsburg, WV. My preceptor is a highly trained lactation consultant and taught me everything I know about lactation consulting in the clinical setting. We worked with a wide range of breastfeeding families, all the way from premature babies in the NICU to breastfeeding toddlers.
I became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in December of 2020 and opened Bee Nourished Lactation Services in March of 2021. I took a full time position at UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center in April of 2022 running their lactation department; concentrating on the re-designation of Baby Friendly and serving their families through education and support. I am still serving families at UVA Health Culpeper Medical Center part time in addition to serving Bee Nourished clients and taking care of my large family!
I am currently offering in-home and virtual consultations. Scroll down on the website for more information on how to schedule a consultation with me!
CLAIRE LABRIE, BSN RN CCE IBCLC
Serving Culpeper County and surrounding areas
Claire has been a practicing RN since 2002, after graduating from UVA with distinction. She has been serving moms and babies in Culpeper VA since 2005. She practices full time as an RN at UVA Community Health Culpeper Medical Center in the Family Birth Center, and has multiple certifications in that area.
Claire is certified in childbirth education by Prepared Childbirth Educators (PCE), and has enjoyed teaching a full day, multimedia Prepared Childbirth class based at the hospital since 2015. She takes great delight connecting with families during pregnancy and being able to follow through during their hospital stay.
In 2018 Claire completed lactation courses and was certified as an IBCLC in 2019. At that time, she split her time in the hospital as an RN and IBCLC. She saw inpatient and outpatients for breastfeeding assistance and support, facilitated a breastfeeding support group, provided staff education, and assisting with Baby Friendly status. While she has transitioned back to full time RN work, she dabbles in the lactation needs on the unit, but she has dearly missed her outpatient families.
On a personal note, Claire is married with four children, and has raised her family in the Culpeper community since 2004. She has successfully breastfed 3 of her children, and wished she had the support she needed to be able to breastfeed her first. She is truly passionate about supporting moms and babies, and helping them achieve their childbirth and breastfeeding goals
LACTATION CONSULTATIONS
***Now accepting health insurance***
Please inquire with us via email to check in-network insurance coverage.
Prices range from $100-$250. All payments are due at time of service.
A superbill will be provided for all self-pay lactation consultation services.
All self paying clients will be given the option to use a credit/debit card to pay invoices.
4% + $0.30 fee added to all invoices
To request a consultation with Melanie Acon, MA, IBCLC or Claire Labrie, RN, IBCLC in Culpeper County, please fill out an inquiry form at the bottom of the website.
A travel fee of $35 will be added to all in-home consultations when the IBCLC travels to you
IN-HOME CONSULTATION
In-home consultations will be offered to all clients in the Culpeper County/surrounding areas.
In-home consultations include an assessment of breasts and nipples, assessment of baby's mouth and suck, pre and post feed weights, observation of a feeding, troubleshoot and management of breastfeeding concerns, latching and positioning techniques shown and a manageable care plan given based on the feeding goals of the breastfeeding mother.
Roughly 60-90 minutes.
Travel fee of $35 added to all in-home consultations.
VIRTUAL CONSULTATION
Virtual consultations will assess and discuss difficulties as we develop a plan that will work best for the entire family! We work with your providers to make sure you receive the best care possible for yourself and your infant(s).
These types of visits are perfect for non-urgent prenatal visits, follow-ups, and or to answer your list of questions! Assessments may also be done virtually on a case-by-case basis.
Roughly 45-60 minutes.
CONSULTATION CANCELLATION/RESCHEDULING/LATE POLICY
You are eligible for a refund if you cancel your consultation at least 24 hours before your appointment time. All refunds will be charged a 10% deduction for fees charged to the business to process the refund. In the event of needing to reschedule your appointment, please do so at least 24 hours before your appointment time. Rescheduling requests within the 24 hour period before the consultation will be accepted on a case-by-case basis. Cancellations within the 24 hour period before the consultation time are not eligible for refunds. No shows are treated as cancellations and are not eligible for refunds. When you book a consultation time, you are securing time with your IBCLC. Your IBCLC sets aside 60-90 minutes of her time and likely has appointments before and after your appointment. To keep our practice running smooth and to respect our other clients the following will apply if you are running late: The amount of time you are late will come out of your time slot. Your appointment will still end at the same time, regardless of the time you arrive. For example: If your appointment is allotted 60 minutes and your appointment time is at 2:00pm but you do not arrive until 2:20pm, then your appointment will be shortened to 40 minutes and the end time will remain 3:00pm.
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
"Melanie really saved my life! I went from exclusively pumping/bottle feeding to being so miserable and hating every minute of it to strictly breastfeeding and loving it and my life is SO much easier! I have had Melanie come to our house a few times now just to make sure I’m doing everything the right way and also to get some tips/tricks on how to get my 7 month old to take a bottle once a day! I seriously don’t know what I’d do if I hadn’t reached out to Melanie. First time mom and I felt like just giving up and going straight to formula and I am extremely happy I decided to give breastfeeding another shot. If you are struggling or just want to make sure you are doing everything right for you and your baby.. here is your sign to call Melanie right now and chat with her you will not regret it I promise! Not only is she extremely helpful she is very very sweet and always quick at responding when needed."
Virginia M.
"I cannot find enough good things to say about our experience working with Melanie. We had a very rocky start to our feeding journey, and had no lactation support from our hospital. When we got Melanie involved, it was evident from the start that she was not only extremely knowledgeable, but that she cared about our family. She was so compassionate, supportive and nonjudgmental in finding feeding solutions that would work best for both myself and my baby. She was a light in the hectic early postpartum days when you just want to ensure that your baby is thriving. I would recommend Melanie to any of my friends, and would absolutely work with her again."
Kelly P.
Hands down the best experience! Melanie is caring, professional, punctual, knowledgeable and supportive!! When wanting to make sure I was doing right by my baby and for myself, I searched for a IBCLCs besides what the hospital offered, I found Bee Nourished Lactation Service, it was a no brainer when I saw Melanie did in home visits. My only wish was that I found her sooner in my BF journey! She is definitely going to be in my toolbox for next baby!!
Molly E.
Claire was absolutely phenomenal with helping me through my first breastfeeding journey, we meet prior to me delivering and I learned so much. During my stay in the hospital after giving birth she was quick to respond to texts with all my questions and visited us shortly after we got Home to help with latching and making sure everything was going smooth. She continued to visit over the next few weeks to make sure everything was on track with not only the baby but with myself as well. I would 100% recommend using bee nourished for your breastfeeding journey, they are caring and quick to respond and extremely supportive.
Kelsey A.
Claire from Bee Nourished is absolutely wonderful! She helped us navigate tongue and lip ties and several other concerns. Working with her, without a doubt, helped my physical and mental health and my child's health. She is incredibly encouraging, understanding, and knowledgeable. She enabled us to meet our goals and I am forever grateful. Thank you, Claire!
Allison A.
Claire and Melanie are amazing! Melanie helped with my first breastfed baby who had a tongue tie and Claire helped with my second who had a tongue tie and fought viral meningitis in the first week of his life! These were major hurdles and I definitely couldn’t have been successful in my breastfeeding journey without these two amazing women!