What do you do when you're frustrated by a broken system? If you're Sarah Hartenberger, you spend five years becoming the expert who fixes it.

Sarah came from the world of corporate market research — working with global brands, climbing the ladder — until the birth of her son revealed a gap in postpartum care she couldn't unsee. Struggling to breastfeed and feeling failed by the resources available to her, she made a decision: she was going to become the support she wished she'd had.

Getting there wasn't simple. Sarah didn't have a healthcare background — just degrees in communications and Spanish and a drive that, as she puts it, makes people want to get out of her way. She took anatomy, physiology, biology, and nutrition courses from scratch. She negotiated a part-time role at her old marketing job to fund the transition. She clocked over 1,000 clinical hours. And when the governing body changed the certification pathway mid-journey and threatened to set her back seven years, she found another way.

Then her marriage ended — and rather than retreat to the safety of corporate, she went all-in on her business. Today, Nurture Lactation KC is a team of 7 IBCLCs serving families across Kansas City, operating in-network with major insurance providers, and fighting publicly for lactation care to be recognized — and covered — as the essential healthcare it is.

In This Episode

• The "nap time warrior" years: how Sarah built her certification while working part-time and raising a toddler
• Why she negotiated a flexible role at her old company, and what her mom's advice had to do with it
• Sink or swim: going full-time in her business after her divorce
• The moment she realized she "likes to go against the grain" in her 30s
• Fighting insurance companies to enforce what the ACA already requires
• Why she caps her own income, and why that's actually a power move
• "Who made these rules? I'm making new ones."
• What lights her up: seeing moms recognize their own power

Connect with Sarah

Instagram: @NurtureLactationKC

Website: nurturelactationkc.com

Email: hello@nurturelactationkc.com

Find 101 Ways Out

Website: 101waysout.com