Hi I’m Kerry Knight
I am a mum of a very chaotic toddler, I am a wife to my wonderful husband and I am someone who is truly passionate about infant feeding, particularly the wonder that is breastfeeding.
For many years I have been the “boobie lady” amongst my friends and colleagues, as my desire for teaching and sharing knowledge around all things breastfeeding, means boobs are often the topic of conversation. Above all else, I want to help. I want to help mum’s feel confident and enjoy feeding their babies, as feeding plays such a vital role in the bonding process, building foundations that can last a lifetime, and when it’s a struggle it can make you feel so defeated.
Believe me, I had my struggles too and I was sobbing in A&E with my 5 day old with excess weight loss. But mothers are superhuman in my eyes and what our bodies can do is mindblowing, and yes it is incredibly difficult sometimes, but my goodness can it be absolutely brilliant too.
More often than not, learning to feed your baby takes time and the pressure to get it right immediately is immense, but well timed professional support from someone who gets it can be a game changer. For so long I have seen women struggle to get breastfeeding off to a good start, or cut their journey short because they didn’t get the support they truly deserved and it broke my heart. However, I believe the power inside you is stronger than you have ever thought possible and you can do this. I am someone who wants to be by your side to guide and support you throughout your feeding journey.
My story . . .
I have been working as a Speech and Language Therapist for over 10 years. I started my career working in the public sector in a rural hospital in South Africa, working with both in- and out-patients of all ages. This meant I was exposed to communication, feeding and swallowing difficulties with a variety of patients, from birth (often complex, premature babies) until end of life care, and everything in between.
I was able to find my true passion, working with mum’s and their babies in the very early stages of feeding development and follow them along as they progressed as out-patients. This fuelled me to develop a High Risk Neonatal multi-disciplinary follow up clinic to help bridge the gap in services and ensure families who needed us weren’t lost to follow up. I spent a lot of time increasing my knowledge and skills through continuous professional development, focussing on infant feeding.
In 2019 I moved to the UK to work for the NHS as a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in Paediatrics and Neonatal Care. Specialising in this patient group was the best decision, as working on the Neonatal ICU was always the highlight of my day. It was working for the NHS that truly highlighted the pressures on a system that has babies born every day, and it became clear very quickly that there simply isn’t enough breastfeeding education and support for women in the UK. I desperately wanted to be the person who could spend enough time with a family to help them develop and thrive during their infant feeding journey, but my day job meant I was stretched and I wanted to do more.
I decided to study and become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and after many hours of training, studying and hands on patient care, I became certified in July 2024. I use these skills in my role as an Speech Therapist, and am so excited to work with families outside of the hospital environment.
Home is where you and your baby should be, and I would be honoured to help you through this chapter, nothing is off limits and I am here for all your feeding needs.