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Mayela Lopez Rodrigues said she wouldn't be able to breastfeed her three-month-old son if it weren't for the care she received from a nurse practitioner at the Halifax drop-in clinic. 

"We were having troubles with him gaining weight, and I knew I was producing milk, but there had to be something wrong," she said in an interview Thursday.

Lopez Rodrigues says that in her experience, primary care and public health professionals don't have the specialized knowledge to treat certain infant feeding issues. She and other mothers in the Halifax area say it's critical the province maintain the drop-in clinic, which allows people without a family doctor to access vital health care without a referral.

Lopez Rodrigues said she had asked a doctor and other health-care professionals about her son's feeding issues and if there was a chance he had a tongue-tie — when the tissue connecting a baby's tongue to the bottom of their mouth is short, restricting the tongue's moment. 

"They all said no, that that's not a problem," she said.

Then, she was directed to the Halifax Infant Feeding Drop-In. The nurse practitioner there heard her concerns and was able to identify that her son did in fact have a tongue-tie, she said. "And she was able to figure out other things that could have been affecting feeding."

"Without this clinic, I think a lot of mothers would honestly just quit breastfeeding," Lopez Rodrigues said.

She and four other mothers from the area say staffers at the clinic recently told them it was slated to close.

Nova Scotia Health Minister Michelle Thompson said Thursday she had just learned about the health authority's decision and asked for more information. "We know the early years are a critical time for children, and I need to understand the decision before commenting," Thompson said in a statement. 

Halifax mother Emilie Comeau said the clinic provides an "irreplaceable" type of care, given that many family doctors do not have specialized lactation training. Comeau sent a letter to Thompson urging her to keep the clinic running, saying that ending the drop-in service in the city sends a troubling message about the importance of postpartum care.

"This kind of care should not only be available through private, paid services that many families cannot afford," she said. 

Emma Morris-Smith, a Halifax mother who has visited the clinic with her nine-month-old son, said private lactation consultants charge about $150 per visit, which is not accessible to most families in the city. 

"This clinic is so, so valuable to me and to so many other women and families," she said. 

A spokesperson with the provincial health authority said the infant feeding drop-in clinic was a "locally initiated, short-term informal service."

"While this specific drop-in group is coming to an end, infant feeding supports are not being discontinued. Nova Scotia Health’s public health programs, primary care clinics and community partners continue to provide these important services for families across the province," Jennifer Lewandowski with Nova Scotia Health said in an email.

This report by ºÃÉ«tvwas first published Nov. 6, 2025.