Supporting you and your baby with expert, in-home care

At Nurtured Steps, I provide compassionate and personalised care to support you and your baby through pregnancy, feeding and the early days of parenthood, all from the comfort of your own home.

I’m Melissa, an experienced Registered and Endorsed Midwife, IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) and Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist. With many years of experience supporting mothers and babies, I take the time to understand the whole picture, your pregnancy, birth and feeding history, your baby’s individual needs, and your goals for feeding and parenting.

I support families experiencing feeding difficulties, unsettled babies, oral dysfunction, tongue and lip ties, breast and bottle-feeding challenges, milk supply concerns, and other issues that can make those early weeks feel overwhelming.

Rather than simply addressing one symptom, I take a thorough, individualised approach to help identify factors that may be contributing to your concerns and work with you to develop a practical, gentle care plan.

What I Offer:

• In-home assessments & consultations
  I come to you, so you and your baby can be assessed and supported in the comfort of your own home.

• Lactation & feeding support
  Individualised support with breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, expressing, milk supply, positioning and attachment, feeding difficulties and developing a feeding plan that works for your family.

• Antenatal feeding preparation
  One-on-one preparation during pregnancy to help you understand newborn feeding, establish your milk supply, prepare for breastfeeding or combination feeding, learn about colostrum expression and feel confident about your feeding choices before your baby arrives.

• Oral function assessments
  Assessment of oral function and feeding-related oral restrictions, including tongue and lip ties, where these may be contributing to feeding difficulties.

• Infant feeding & behaviour support
  Helping you understand your baby's feeding patterns, cues and behaviour, and identifying factors that may be contributing to unsettledness or feeding difficulties.

• Collaborative care
  Where appropriate, I work alongside a range of other healthcare professionals to ensure you and your baby receive coordinated care.

Gentle, Evidence-Based & Family-Centered

I know how stressful and overwhelming those early days can feel. The questions, the exhaustion, the uncertainty, and the constant worry about whether you're doing the right thing all twisted up in the most intense love you’ve ever felt.

My approach combines both personal and clinical experience and evidence-based practice with genuine compassion and respect for your individual circumstances, choices and goals.

There is no single "right" way to feed a baby. Whether you are hoping to breastfeed, bottle-feed, express, combination feed or simply want to understand your options, my role is to provide you with the information, practical support and confidence to make decisions that feel right for you and your family.

You don’t have to navigate this journey alone. I’m here to walk alongside you, from pregnancy through the early days, weeks and months of motherhood.