ABOUT US - OUR STAFF

Jean Kouba

Jean Kouba is the clinic manager at the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic and Institute in Toronto, Ontario, where she assists and supports mothers and babies experiencing breastfeeding challenges.

As a member of the Institute faculty, she teaches medical students, midwives, nurses and allied healthcare professionals regarding the art of breastfeeding.

Jean is the President of the Canadian Lactation Consultants Association (CLCA) and also a committee member of the Halton Baby Friendly Initiative. She is a co-author of L-EAT a teaching tool for breastfeeding mothers and healthcare providers.
Jean lives in Oakville and is the mother of 3 (now very grown up!) breastfed children.

Marla Blankenstein

Marla is a registered nurse with over 20 years of nursing experience. She has extensive experience in both hospital acute care and community health.  For the last 5 years she has been working and training with Dr Jack Newman and Edith Kernerman IBCLC. 

In July 2007 she successfully wrote the IBCLC exam.
Currently, Marla works at the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic & Institute as well as maintaining a private practice offering in home lactation support.  She is also the proud mother of four breastfed children.

Linda Kirby RN, LCCE

Lynda became passionate about supporting moms, dads, babies and breastfeeding after the birth of her second daughter. Lynda is a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, DONA trained Birth and Postpartum Doula and has had the honour of teaching, supporting and welcoming births to more than 300 families.

Linda has been mentoring with Jack Newman and Edith Kernerman since 2002 and will complete the requirements for her IBCLC in 2009. Her proudest accomplishment are her four amazing kids, Caitlin, Quinn, Matthew and Timothy.

Suzanne Mackinnon, B.A., IBCLC,

Suzanne Mackinnon of Breastfeeding Solutions in Durham, provides private consultations in the comfort of your own home and in hospital. Both pre & postnatal visits are available most days on short notice.

Originally from Montreal and fluent in English and French, Suzanne has been a La Leche League Leader for over a dozen years.  Suzanne is an active member of the Durham Region Breastfeeding Coalition, which recently held a conference in Oshawa with plans underway for another successful World Breastfeeding Week event in the fall.

She is currently working and teaching at the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic & Institute in Toronto and with Breastfeeding Buddies, a drop-in program in south Oshawa supported by the Oshawa Community Health Centre.

Eileen Park

Eileen Park is currently the Education Coordinator at the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic & Institute, which is dedicated to educating multidisciplinary healthcare practitioners in lactation management. 

She is the co-author of the “L-EAT Latch and Transfer tool” and the “Game Plan for Protecting and Supporting Breastfeeding in the First 24 Hours of Life and Beyond”, both of which are practical and helpful tools for lactation management.  Eileen is also interning at the clinic and is working toward becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.  She has also received CAPPA-approved labour doula training.

Eileen completed her Masters in Science in the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto in 2006, and has published several articles in high-impact medical journals.  She is currently a student at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine.