Erin Thom

(she/her) ibclc

Erin is an international board certified lactation consultant and  a Southern California native; She has lived in various locations throughout LA county and San Diego county and loves So Cal living. Erin attained a bachelor’s degree in nutritional science from the California State University of Los Angeles with an emphasis in alternative nutrition. She completed her lactation consulting education at the University of California San Diego and her internship hours at Kaiser Permanente, where she is also currently employed as a lactation consultant. She currently resides in Murrieta with her partner Spencer, son Wylder and her standard poodle, Prince. She enjoys cooking and eating vegan food, reading, spending quality time with her family, camping, hiking, traveling, and being a lactation consultant. She currently offers in person and online visits.

Erin’s Story: 

I graduated college with a bachelor’s degree in nutritional science with the intent of taking a year off before returning for my master’s degree to become a registered dietitian. As with all best laid plans, life had other plans and I got pregnant 3 months after graduating! At the time, I knew very little about motherhood, breastfeeding, and birth plans. I decided to throw myself fully into the pursuit of knowledge of all things prenatal and postpartum. I wanted to feel empowered in my birth, mothering, and breastfeeding journeys. I began reading everything from Ina May to Maya Bolman. I knew early on I wanted to breastfeed and in the midst of it all I decided to switch gears and pursue an education in lactation. Thus, I enrolled at UCSD and became a lactation counselor at 9 months pregnant. 

I gave birth to my son Wylder with few complications, but within a few days, our breastfeeding journey got rocky. Breastfeeding was painful and I did not seek out help because I thought, as a lactation counselor, I could manage it internally. I lacked the hands-on knowledge and extensive training that lactation consultants have to be able to navigate the bumps in the road we were encountering. I experienced a lot of pain for the first few months of breastfeeding; however, I managed to persevere and made it to 18 months of breastfeeding. I knew from my experience I wanted to further my education to become a lactation consultant and help moms like me. I returned to UCSD and began taking various medical training courses. Ultimately, I went on to complete my lactation consulting training and passed my board exam in 2021. I am very passionate about empowering and guiding lactating persons on their personal chest/breastfeeding journey.