Story by Emily Robertson | Photography by Morgan Marie Photography
When Emily Kaiser had her first child eight years ago, she faced a dilemma. As she struggled to breastfeed her child, she became frustrated and began to search for a consultant with the knowledge and experience to help her in her breastfeeding journey. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to find what she needed. With career experience in telecommunications, mental health therapy and child advocacy, Kaiser didn’t have experience in postnatal care and lactation, but her career path was about to change drastically. And while she hadn’t anticipated her newfound passion, she knows that it was just the role she was meant to have.
“I searched high and low for someone who could give me evidence-based answers and support on my journey, but I came up empty-handed,” Kaiser says. “Shortly after this, I began the requirements to start a career in lactation.”
Kaiser, a Western Kentucky University grad with a Bachelors and Master’s degree in social work, began to grow a community for breastfeeding moms by leading a free breastfeeding support group while finishing her education, as well as a successful breastfeeding support group on Facebook still in existence today, that offers evidence-based advice and support to both local moms and moms across the world.
In 2020, she opened her own practice serving as a lactation consultant and infant feeding specialist who specializes in functional oral assessments, tongue-tie procedure care and oral habilitation. She says that the response to her business was overwhelming and her practice has grown by leaps and bounds, which she thinks is partly due to the specialized care she offers.
“I pride myself on not being like most lactation consultants,” Kaiser says. “I am proud to provide individualized expert care in an intimate space. My private practice isn’t a clinic and you aren’t just a medical number to me.”
Outside of prenatal and postnatal care, Kaiser says her biggest focus in life is her family. She and her husband, Marc, have lived in Bowling Green for the past 14 years. The couple has three daughters: Hadley, 8, Lilah, 6, and Olivianna, 3. Marc serves as a Captain for the Bowling Green Police Department and they are a proud law enforcement family.
“My greatest accomplishment in life is living out my dream of being a mom to three beautiful girls and raising our girls with my husband,” Kaiser says. “I couldn’t think of a more honorable title.”
Because being a mother is so near and dear to Kaiser’s heart and is a huge part of her career, she is also very focused on mental health, and specifically women’s mental health and postpartum mental health.
“As someone who has chronic health issues, I want to be an advocate for better healthcare for women,” Kaiser says. “Working with moms and having three daughters of my own, I am very passionate about rights and equal freedoms for all.”
One individual who has deeply impacted Kaiser’s life and work is her college professor, Dr. Gayle Mallinger, who she said helped her see the world as a complex system where individuals are influenced greatly by their environment.
“Dr. Mallinger taught me to indentify the unique strengths that every individual possesses,” Kaiser says. “I have her to thank for my passion for promoting social change, advocating for equity and empowering my clients.”
Outside of her work, Kaiser still wants to help individuals and be a positive force for the community. She was a resource for moms and babies following the tornado in Bowling Green in 2021. She set up a large donation site in her basement for families and was later recognized as a Hometown Hero in 2023 for providing the resource to the community. She is also proud to raise awareness for mothers’ and babies’ health by speaking on important subjects like the recent formula shortage and informal mom-to-mom breast milk donation.
“I love that I can help families reach their unique feeding and parenting goals,” Kaiser says. “It is an honor to help families with the intimate act of feeding their baby. The postpartum period is such a delicate and cherished time. I will never take for granted that families turn to me for guidance, support and help during this period of their life.”
Going forward, Kaiser hopes her work continues to help more and more families in the community and beyond, and she looks forward to focusing on her own family in special ways.
“I cannot wait to see how my practice grows in the next four years and how many families
I will be blessed to serve,” Kaiser says. “Since I have seen such great growth in the past
four years, I can only imagine what the next four years will hold. And I am looking forward
to traveling with my family, watching my girls grow and moving into our forever home.”