Jarrah Foster is San Diego’s first private practice Black IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant); an achievement she is very proud of. Jarrah has been in private practice since 2018 and started doing home visits after hours while she worked as a full-time lactation consultant at a doctor’s office. After the birth of her daughter and during the height of the pandemic her business was put on hold; and in 2021 she began seeing patients out of her new office at the San Diego Community Birth Center.
Jarrah’s family and friends’ struggles with breastfeeding led her into the field of lactation and her own breastfeeding experience has enriched and deepened her care for families who are on the lactation journey. She wishes that all families, and particularly Black families, have culturally competent and representative care. Her practice is committed to training new Black IBCLCs to grow the resources for the Black community. Partnering with the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation has allowed her to reach even more families by providing reduced-fee and low-cost consultations.
Jarrah hosts a lactation support group Fridays at her office which is co-led by other Black lactation and birthing professionals.