Room to Bloom: Lactation consulting space opens in Swarthmore

A new space dedicated to supporting families through the challenges of breastfeeding is opening its doors in downtown Swarthmore. Room to Bloom Wellness, located at 411 Dartmouth Ave., is the new home of Breast Assured Lactation, a consulting practice founded by longtime nurse and lactation consultant Allison Garfinkel.

Garfinkel, who brings 22 years of nursing experience and nearly a decade as a lactation consultant, began her career in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). It’s a calling she explains started after the birth of her little sister when she was 9.

“I remember walking past the NICU and wondering: ‘what is that place?’” she explained. “I always thought I’d end up working with babies in some way.”

The NICU offered Garfinkel a clear view of what she calls the “magic” of breast milk. She watched as hospitals moved from primarily offering formula to banked, or mother’s, milk.

“We had a baby who had an infection and there was no hope for her,” she recalled. “They started giving her breast milk, and thought ‘this is all we can do is see if she gets better’ — and she did.”

Garfinkel attributes the recovery to the antibodies in the mother’s breast milk.

Along with the magic of breast milk, Garfinkel is equally clear about how “emotional” the journey to breast feed can be for new parents. It’s a lesson she learned personally after the birth of her first daughter in 2014.

“I thought I knew everything there was to know about babies,” she laughed. “Nothing could have been more humbling to me than having a baby that I was struggling with.”

Garfinkel’s initial difficulty breast feeding, and a support group she joined for help, led her to pursue her license as a lactation consultant.

“I just felt like if this was so hard for me, and I had all this education, what was it like for regular people that don’t work in the NICU?” she asked.

To become a certified lactation consultant, Garfinkel completed 1,000 hours of direct breastfeeding support, 90 hours of lactation-specific education, and various science prerequisites—much of which was built on her professional background.

Garfinkel, who continued to practice at Lankenau Medical Center after her certification in 2016, began seeing private clients through Pacify Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. When her nephew was born at 32 weeks, Garfinkel supported her sister-in-law through pumping and feeding a NICU baby and realized she was ready to head out on her own.

“He did awesome,” she said of her nephew. “That really motivated me, I realized I knew what I was doing.”

After launching Breast Assured Lactation with home visits in 2023, Garfinkel quickly built a following. In both 2024 and 2025, she received the LOVE award from Main Line Parent for Best Lactation Consultant. Soon, she found herself fully booked, managing 20–30 visits a month.

“It got to the point last fall where I was turning people away,” she explained. “The only way I could do more of this is if people came to me.”

Room to Bloom Wellness will offer clients the chance to do just that.

The space, which Garfinkel describes as “homey,” will operate by appointment only, select weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Services offered include prenatal breastfeeding classes, colostrum harvesting workshops, pump flange fittings, and postnatal consultations, all tailored to individual needs.

“Everyone has their own goals,” Garfinkel emphasized. “Not everyone wants to or needs to feed their baby directly at the breast for them to feel successful. I try to meet people where they are.”

Her sessions often include the use of a sensitive infant scale that allows parents to weigh their baby before and after feeding to gauge how much milk the baby has received. She also plans to offer prenatal breastfeeding classes for up to six people, complete with weighted dolls to help parents practice comfortable feeding positions.

Garfinkel recommends parents find this kind of lactation support prior to delivery both for early education and to ensure services after the baby is born.

“It’s much better if you plan in advance and don’t need me,” she said. “It’s better if you have someone lined up, because it can be hard to find help after your

baby’s here.”

Garfinkel is well aware of the emotion around breast feeding expectations, and what can feel like failure to new mothers. She prescribes small steps toward larger goals.

“It’s easy to get overwhelmed by too many things all at once,” she said. “Focusing on one thing at a time helps. Things will sometimes fall into place at three weeks, four weeks, or six weeks—it can be a slow process.”

In that process, she’s also clear that not all feeding goals can be met.

“Part of the job is letting parents know it’s okay if exactly what you wanted to do isn’t working out,” she explained. “It’s okay for you to change your goals. Sometimes people really really want to do something, and it’s not possible and that’s okay and it’s not your fault.”

Garfinkel finds support groups like the one she runs at the Park Avenue Community (PAC) Center, which is free to the community, particularly helpful to parents experiencing the “isolation” of being home with a newborn when things aren’t going the way they planned.

“When you come to the support group everybody around the room has had some challenge,” she explained. “It’s not exactly the same, but there’s a lot of opportunity for help there.”

Looking ahead, Garfinkel hopes to host additional community events in her new space— from parenting book clubs to possibly collaborating on support groups for birth trauma and other postpnartdum challenges— all in an effort to support young families.

“It’s a really emotional time,” she said. “A lot of people don’t realize it’s going to be hard, so they don’t line up support in advance. I want to help change that.”

For more information on Room to Bloom, or for upcoming support group times at the PAC Center, visit https://www. breastassuredlactation.com.