Retail therapy: wikipedia calls it shopping with the primary purpose of improving the buyer's mood or disposition. Generally it does not work; shopping does not provide much actual support for whoever is doing the comfort buying.

There is a local store that is an exception, however, and it is for women who are right in the throes of needing the most support. A nursing mom might seem like the most natural and easy thing you can picture. But if you have ever been one, you know it is not always that way. The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor offers a shop, community center, and more to new and nursing moms.

Physical support comes from the shop. The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor offers over 20 styles of nursing bras and tanks. Owner Barbara Robertson hand selects the very best brands to properly fit any mom. Most of the store’s offerings are items that make breastfeeding more comfortable. Nursing stools, pillows, and books are all available to try before you buy.

The store also carries the Medela and Ameda lines of breast pumps and hard to find replacement supplies. Barbara explains that standard parts that come with most breast pumps are not one size fits all - not even one size fits most. 75% of nursing moms could get more milk just by changing the size of the breast shields.

Therapeutic Support comes in the form of services offered at the shop. Moms gather weekly for a free Breastfeeding Café; a chance to get together with other new moms and discuss the trials and successes of breastfeeding and parenting. The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor also holds La Leche League meetings, private classes, and support groups on a regular basis.

Barbara Robertson began this comprehensive breastfeeding service in April of 2008.

After years as a Le Leche League leader, she saw a real need to provide mothers and babies with compassionate breastfeeding care based upon the most accurate, up-to-date research and best practices available. Robertson is at the top of her game; she is a board certified lactation consultant with a Masters degree in Education and many moms feel that makes her the perfect resource for all of their nursing needs.

Barbara feels being a successful new mom is about informed decision making. She would love for every child to be breastfed, but she feels her job as a lactation consultant is really twofold: she offers emotional support and counseling along with accurate medical information. “That way moms are equipped to make their own decisions on how to best feed their children.”

Some of The Breastfeeding Center’s services are fee based, and Robertson notes that new moms are reluctant to spend money on breastfeeding care. But comparing the cost of an in-home consultation or a group class to the cost of bottles and formula shows the support to be far more economical.

Barbara’s clients seem to like her approach; new mom Ana told was just leaving the Breast Feeding Center of Ann Arbor as I was coming in. She told me to quote her on this: “Barbara is amazing; she came to my house and worked with me and broke it (latching and breastfeeding) down step by step. The education she provided saved my son from being a formula baby.”

The Breast Feeding Center of Ann Arbor is a locally owned business located at 726 Brooks St., north of Downtown Ann Arbor The shop is adjacent to the Center for the Child Bearing Year, which is a resource for education, doula care, massage therapy, and community support for new and expectant moms in Ann Arbor.

Lead Shopping Blogger Angie Smith will hunt for deals and dish on the latest in retail in Ann Arbor. Readers will attain notices of great deals, and store happenings in and around the city. To report a news item or tip contact her at angieannarbor@gmail.com