Babiesandmoms.com Radio Bio

for

Sheila Dukas-Janakos MPH, IBCLC

Sheila Janakos, a mother of 3 breastfed children, lives in Burlingame, California where she is Owner of a thriving private practice, Healthy Horizons Breastfeeding Centers, offering in-home and in-office consultations.  As a lactation consultant with a full staff for over 16 years, she is also Co-Owner of Healthy Horizons Lactation Service, providing comprehensive services to two hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area including various breastfeeding support groups, hospital rounds seeing every baby born at Mills Peninsula Hospital, nursing development, and breastfeeding education to over 4800 babies and their parents every year.  In 1992, Sheila Co-Founded and launched a website, Babiesandmoms.com, offering specialized lines of breastfeeding and baby products often hard to find, as well as all of the industry standard products.  Sheila decided products weren’t enough and added a variety of classes including Infant/Child CPR, Choking, & First Aid, Infant Massage, Baby Sign Language, Pre-natal Breastfeeding, & Nursing Development, to name a few.

Sheila has an A.S. Degree in Pre-Nursing; a B.S. Degree in Health Sciences, majoring in Community Health Education and minoring in Nutrition; a Masters of Public Health in Health Education specializing in Maternal and Child Health, HIV Disease, and Human Sexuality.  She attended U.C.L.A.’s Lactation Educator Course and became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) in 1996.

Early in her career, she started peer counseling and education programs for Adolescent Health and Sexuality in 30 middle schools and 15 high schools over 13 years ago; many of which are still in operation on their own today.  She was a breastfeeding columnist for 2 years authoring articles from low milk supply issues to returning to work and breastfeeding, which would eventually become one of her special areas of expertise.  

As part of comprehensive hospital-based service programs she co-designed, she participated in and co-authored published research on a comprehensive hospital-based lactation program and it’s ability to increase breastfeeding rates past 6 months from 29% to 74% in less than two years; was presented at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine in Vancouver, Canada in 2002.  In addition to being published several times over, she has designed and manufactured many breastfeeding aids including the worlds best washable breast pad and is a paid consultant for multiple leading breastfeeding product manufacturers.

Now, with over 20 years experience in the maternal and child health field, she is considered a well-respected expert in the field of breastfeeding practices and nutrition and was invited to head up the Tibetan Children’s Health and Nutrition Project to educate every Physician and Public Health Worker in Tibet regarding breastfeeding and infant nutrition practices.

An overachiever, Sheila has many long-term affiliations in which she plays an active role including the Nursing Mother’s Council, the Society for Public Health Education, ILCA, La Leche League International, the TERMA Organization, and the Peninsula Medical Center’s Breastfeeding Committee.  She is a speaker for professional organizations and conferences, promoting breastfeeding internationally.

Sheila is known throughout her community as a doer, a giver, and someone who always goes the extra mile in her career as well as in her personal life.  She has a great love for animals, and is a dedicated mother, daughter, sister, and friend.