Healthcare Insights

Top 25 hospitals by lactation consultations

When new parents have questions about or challenges with breastfeeding, a physician or lactation consultant can help them find solutions. Using data from more than 7,300 hospitals tracked in our HospitalView product, we’ve compiled a list of the hospitals with the highest volumes of lactation consultation claims (ICD-10-CM Z39.1 – Encounter for care and examination of lactating mother) in 2021.

Check out the full list below.

Top U.S. hospitals by breastfeeding consultation claims

RankDefinitive IDHospitalEst total pmtsAvg est pmt/claimEst total # of claimsExplore dataset
14252Central Vermont Medical Center$15,605 $119 131Explore
24356Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center$13,025 $117 111Explore
33421OHSU Hospital - Portland (AKA OHSU Hospital - Marquam Hill Campus)$11,465 $115 100Explore
43366Hillcrest Medical Center$10,580 $119 89Explore
53975John Sealy Hospital$3,091 $41 75Explore
6508Sutter Medical Center - Ose Adams Medical Pavilion (FKA Sutter General Hospital)$7,266 $110 66Explore
7317Contra Costa Regional Medical Center$7,031 $108 65Explore
81695Mercy Health - Lourdes Hospital$5,144 $94 55Explore
93420Legacy Emanuel Medical Center$5,861 $117 50Explore
10873AdventHealth Orlando (FKA Florida Hospital Orlando)$5,832 $119 49Explore
11621Memorial Medical Center$2,836 $63 45Explore
12123Alaska Native Medical Center$25,950 $577 45Explore
133274Comanche County Memorial Hospital$4,185 $93 45Explore
144406Providence Mount Carmel Hospital$1,918 $43 45Explore
154401Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center$4,811 $115 42Explore
16873536Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center$2,653 $66 40Explore
17911535Marshfield Medical Center - Eau Claire$3,976 $99 40Explore
183227Wilson Memorial Hospital$3,953 $101 39Explore
19536Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas$4,651 $119 39Explore
203387St Charles Redmond$4,408 $116 38Explore
21273Baptist Health - Little Rock$4,173 $119 35Explore
22301Alta Bates Summit Medical Center - Alta Bates Campus$5,134 $151 34Explore
233006Novant Health Matthews Medical Center (FKA Presbyterian Hospital Matthews)$3,789 $118 32Explore
243111Hillcrest Hospital$2,978 $119 25Explore
252379University Health Lakewood Medical Center (FKA Truman Medical Center Lakewood)$2,469 $99 25Explore

Fig. 1 Data is from the Definitive Healthcare HospitalView product and sourced from CMS data and proprietary research. Data accurate as of July 2022.

Which hospitals performed the most lactation consultations in 2021?

Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, Vermont tops our list, with 131 lactation consultations for new parents in 2021. On average, each consultation costs about $119.

Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center in Vancouver, Washington follows just behind with 111 claims at about $117 per consultation, on average.

In total, we counted 1,360 consultations across the top 25 hospitals in 2021. The average charge per claim was $122. Alaska Native Medical Center, a federal hospital in Anchorage, Alaska, had the highest average charge at $577 per claim and the highest total charges ($25,950), despite only claiming 45 consultations.

What is a lactation consultation?

A lactation consultation usually starts with a discussion with the new parents, followed by an observation of a feeding session and the establishment of a care plan. Lactation consultations can be performed in a healthcare facility, birthing center, a consultant’s office or at home. Online lactation consultations are becoming increasingly popular, too.

What problems can a lactation consultation address?

Lactation consultations offer support for parents and babies facing a variety of issues. These can include breastfeeding difficulties like breast/nipple pain, milk supply issues, concerns about parent/child nutrition and feeding changes.

In many cases, hospitals and birth centers will have a physician or lactation consultant visit the parent shortly after the baby is born to catch concerns early. In other cases, a parent may receive a consultation from their child’s pediatrician.

Some parents may seek a prenatal lactation consultation to receive guidance and ask questions prior to the baby’s arrival.

Learn more

Healthcare Insights are developed with healthcare commercial intelligence from the Definitive Healthcare platform. Want even more insights? Start a free trial now and get access to the latest healthcare commercial intelligence on hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers.