Joanne Gagnon, RN, IBCLC, PMH-C, NTMNC is a Maternal Newborn Registered Nurse, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, Perinatal Mental Health Certified provider, and the founder of Made of Gold Lactation. With over 24 years of experience supporting families through the transition into parenthood, Joanne brings both deep clinical expertise and compassionate, trauma-informed care to every family she serves.
Joanne's clinical foundation was shaped by her years in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, where she cared for premature and medically complex infants. That experience gave her a profound understanding of how birth trauma, early medical interventions, and separation can affect both feeding and emotional well-being — for babies and parents alike.
In her consultations, Joanne integrates evidence-based practice with holistic approaches, including infant massage and rhythmic movement, to support not only feeding but also bonding, regulation, and development. Her goal is to bring safety, connection, and confidence back into the feeding relationship, especially for families navigating stress, trauma, or unexpected challenges.
When she's not supporting families, Joanne can be found walking, listening to audiobooks, or on the ballroom dance floor — a passion that brings her joy and balance. She has been married for twenty-one years and is the proud mom of two teenage boys.
Joanne collaborates closely with Root + Rise Perinatal Health to provide comprehensive, integrated support for families during the perinatal period.
Feeding Is More Than a Physical Experience When people talk about infant feeding, the conversation often focuses on milk supply, latch, bottles or feeding techniques. While these pieces are important, feeding a baby is also a deeply emotional experience. What many families don’t realize is that infant feeding and postpartum mental health influence each other […]
