Abby Block, CM, LM, IBCLC, LCCE

Midwife & Lactation Consultant

About Abby

Abby very deeply believes that our experience of birth and the postpartum time period - as a parent, a woman, pregnant person, a birth partner, a baby - have an everlasting impact on who we are and who we are to become. Birth shapes our lives in many ways, and she believes that a positive birth and postpartum experience have a positive impact on society at large. 

Influenced by her many years of contact and improvisational dance, Abby's style draws on somatic intelligence, accessing intuition, and continually building knowledge learned from her clients, from ongoing experience, and from experts in the field. She prioritizes listening to her clients, providing evidence based care, and meeting families where they are - whether they are preparing prenatally or working through lactation challenges in the early postpartum time.

Abby became enthralled with birth during her first pregnancy, inspired by the compassionate care she received from her home birth midwife and her doulas. While pregnant with her second child, she trained as a birth doula in hopes of offering similar care to other families. She attended over 300 births as a doula for 10 years in NYC, in various hospitals, birthing centers, and homes, while pregnant, while breastfeeding, with various doula partners, as a solo doula, while in graduate school, and throughout the pandemic!

A couple of years into doula work, Abby noticed the huge gap of knowledge and available help for breastfeeding - this sparked her interest in training to become a certified breastfeeding counselor. Years later as she delved into the simplicities and complexities of lactation, she began her journey become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), completing her clinical lactation hours at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens, in addition to community visits with a mentor. Concurrent with lactation studies, Abby received her Masters of Science in Midwifery at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, earning board certification (CM) and licensure (LM) as a midwife in NY state. She is also a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator.

As both a midwife and lactation consultant, Abby supports from a place of compassionate understanding and nonjudgmental respect for all fellow birthing people and partners, regardless of their preferences and choices. Her goal is to support families in the way that works best for them, as they prepare in pregnancy for labor, birth, postpartum, infant feeding and parenthood. She is a strong advocate for breastfeeding and postpartum healing, and places great emphasis on education and care in the "4th trimester."

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Currently, Abby works independently as a lactation consultant and breastfeeding/childbirth educator. She is a home birth midwife assistant and lactation consultant for Jo Zasloff of Nettle Wellness as well as a birth assistant for Midwifery Care NYC.

Before delving into birth work over 10 years ago, Abby was a certified Holistic Health Coach, having graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and trained in Thai Yoga Bodywork, both of which greatly inform her birth work. In addition to her M.S. in midwifery, she holds a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied dance.

In her spare time, you can find Abby riding her bike around Brooklyn with her kids, hanging out in Prospect Park, going to the beach, exploring open and quiet spaces in the boroughs, cooking, and escaping the city for hiking and camping. She was born in and raised in Western Mass, and has been living in Brooklyn for the past 20 years. She lives in East Flatbush with her family and Benjamin, the bunny.

Education and Trainings

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  • CPR/First Aid Recertification, American Red Cross

  • Board Certified Midwife credential from AMCB and Midwife license from NY State

  • Beyond Fenugreek: An Individualized Approach to Galactagogues, with Melissa Cole

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  • Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE) credential from Lamaze International

  • Neonatal Resuscitation/NRP certified, Karen Strange

  • Clinical Rotation in Primary Care, SUNY Downstate Clinic

  • Basic Life Saving (BLS) Certification, American Heart Association

  • Gynecology & Prenatal Care Clinical Rotation with Northwell/Huntington Midwifery

  • The Pelvic Floor - A workshop for doulas, with Sonia Reiter

  • Evidence on Preventing Tearing during Childbirth Webinar, with Evidence Based Birth

  • Lactation Consultant Training Program, with Lactation Education Resources

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  • Supporting Families with Multiples, with CEA/MNY

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  • Is It Baby Blues or Something More?: Screening for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders, with Sarah Best of the Seleni Institute

  • What to Know About VBAC & Cesarean Birth, with Choices in Childbirth

  • Hypnobirthing for Birth Professionals, with Chanti Smith

  • Advanced Doula Training on Supporting High Risk Pregnancies, with Co-founders of Carriage House Birth

  • Bloodborne Pathogens Course Certificate for Placenta Encapsulators (Recertification)

  • Received Placenta Arts Specialist Certification (APPAC) from APPA

  • Comforting Touch for Doulas Workshop, with Yiska Obadia

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Previous Education/Training