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MEET YOUR NURSE PRACTITIONER FOR SPECIALTY MEDICAL CARE
IN BREASTFEEDING AND LACTATION IN BOULDER
Sometimes, when things aren’t going well with breastfeeding and lactation, we have to change course. It’s not what we thought. It’s not what we expected. It's not what we would choose.
It’s easy to get so far down one path that we lose sight of what we truly want. Here, we help you reconnect with what’s important to you and strike a balance that works for you and your baby. This isn’t about anyone else’s expectations — not ours, not your mother’s, not your friend’s. It’s about your goal. Bring us your most complex questions and concerns, and know we’ll be right here with you every step of the way.
NAVIGATING UNEXPECTED TURNS IN LACTATION
- Lauren Karcher
Nurse Practitioner Medical Director, Boulder Lactation Clinic
You are prepared
to meet
whatever turn
this takes.
“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars.”
-Og Mandino
Lived Experience
What was intended to be their farewell feeding attempt turned into something unexpected: Dr. Karcher’s firstborn latched for the first time. That first latch evolved into pre- and post-feeding weights using an at-home scale she rented and, eventually, latching without the nipple shield altogether.
if you are in this space, we see you.
After weeks of multi-hour feeding attempts—using a tube of formula taped to her breast with a nipple shield—alongside pumping and unhelpful lactation support for their non-latching firstborn, Dr. Karcher felt ready to stop. By her baby’s second month of life, she made the difficult decision to let go of breastfeeding—or so she thought.
When she shared her decision, her husband gently reassured her: “We will tell her you tried.” Simple yet full of compassion, the words were meant for their daughter—a future acknowledgment of the love and effort poured into those early months. She remembers vividly how troubling it was to feel that nothing made her feel better during this time, not even a hug.
"We will tell her you tried."
"I didn't go into lactation because it was easy for me. I went into it because it was really, really hard."
- lauren karcher
nurse practitioner medical director
boulder lactation clinic
Her oldest says her youngest is the smartest because she got the most breastmilk, and she is not happy about it.
real life
get to know lauren karcher
Dr/She/Her
Combining highly skilled, specialized, and advanced practice credentials with a transformative, empowering, and deeply impactful experience.
After overcoming the challenges to breastfeed her firstborn, Dr. Karcher went on to breastfeed all 3 of her kids into toddlerhood or beyond. She’s made it her mission to help new parents find a path to lactation that’s genuine to them and preserves their mental health. She’s attained 6 specialty certifications, 3 of which are lactation-specific, and has provided more than 3000 lactation consultations to parents of well-babies and our region’s most critically ill infants in Colorado’s largest level III and IV neonatal ICUs and high-risk obstetrical units.
Before joining the Boulder Lactation Clinic, Dr. Karcher received a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and nurse practitioner training from the University of Washington in Seattle, which ranks among the top nursing programs in the world. She is dual board-certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She’s completed specialty training as a nurse practitioner in family practice, breastfeeding and lactation medicine, perinatal mental health and psychopharmacology, and skilled communication.
Dr. Karcher’s nurse practitioner scope isn’t limited to women’s health or pediatrics. As a Family Nurse Practitioner, she can diagnose, treat, and prescribe for those across the lifespan, from infants through older adults. Combining her clinical doctorate expertise in the translation of science into advanced clinical practice and dedication to skilled communication, along with her extensive lactation experience gives Dr. Karcher a refreshing, much-needed, and unique perspective to the world of lactation.
After spending much of her career commuting and working throughout top academic medical campuses from Chapel Hill to Seattle and Anschutz, you can catch her and her partner shuffling their 3 kids to 4 schools in Boulder, Colorado where they first became residents in 2003.
"I was just telling someone the other day about how you saved me in breastfeeding."
My baby and I are doing great - we breastfeed all the time and pump whenever I'm at work. Your support allowed me to establish a good milk supply so when he did latch, and well into his life, I have a great milk supply! Thanks so much for your guidance. You are the bestttt.
breastfed for 1 year through
nurse practitioner training
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Specialized, evidence-based care plans for complex lactation challenges and disorders at the diagnostic and treatment level for parents and infants.
Medical Services for Breastfeeding
& Lactation
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Breastfeeding and lactation management - you name it, we’ve seen it, and we’ll help you through it.
Lactation Consulting
"This is much more detailed than the consultants I have spoken with have been, so thank you!"
breastfed former preemie for nearly 3 years
We don’t just talk-the-talk. Check out Dr. Karcher’s work to bring lactation training to Haitian student nurse-midwives, as well as specialized care and education to parents and infants in rural and urban Haiti.
Explore Our Humanitarian Lactation Projects
walking-the-walk
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transform your lactation experience