Joy Funston, RN, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant

Joy is the founder / CEO of Joyful Start, a Lactation Support private practice in Charlottesville, Virginia.     

Her intro into lactation was when she herself was an inexperienced breastfeeding mom.  Luckily the help she found was from two of the co-founders of the International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) profession. She successfully gained her own IBCLC credential during the infancy of that profession, more than 30 years ago. 

Joy’s RN career has been spent caring for fragile new families. She first practiced in a Level 3 Pediatric ICU, then in a large Newborn ICU, and now her emphasis is on newborns in her own  busy practice. Her current professional focus is on supporting families challenged with Ankyloglossia, as she also offers educational opportunities to healthcare providers.

As of 2017, she has collaborated worldwide with other Ankyloglossia experts, as a board member of the International Affiliation of Tongue Tie Professionals (IATP).

Joy’s strengths are her intuition, her healing touch, and the infectious enthusiasm she brings to her practice. She maintains absolute faith in every mother’s ability to succeed if they are provided with proper support…both from their family & peers and from expert Lactation Support & a full health care team truly supportive of breastfeeding.