Tikara Cannon MPH, IBCLC

Founder of Milk & Cradle | Lactation Care Rooted in Compassion, Connection, and Confidence

Tikara Cannon is the founder of Milk & Cradle, a lactation support practice built on the belief that caring for infants begins with caring for the parents who nourish them.

Her path into maternal and infant health is deeply personal. Through experiences with infertility, IVF, the premature birth of twins, and the transformative realities of early motherhood, Tikara developed a profound appreciation for the complexities of the perinatal journey. These experiences opened her world to the importance of accessible, compassionate maternal and infant health care and shaped her commitment to supporting families through some of life’s most vulnerable transitions.

With a Master of Public Health (MPH) and certification as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), Tikara brings together a public health perspective and individualized clinical care. She recognizes that infant feeding does not happen in isolation. A family’s experience is influenced by physical recovery, emotional well-being, access to resources, developmental changes, and the expectations placed on parents during early parenthood.

At the heart of Tikara’s practice is a commitment to protecting maternal mental health. She believes that parents deserve to feel heard, respected, and supported without sacrificing their well-being to meet an idealized standard of feeding or motherhood. Her approach prioritizes understanding the whole family, exploring the underlying factors affecting feeding, and developing individualized plans that honor each parent’s goals, circumstances, and capacity.

Through Milk & Cradle, Tikara works to make lactation care proactive, accessible, and responsive as families move through pregnancy, early postpartum recovery, and their baby’s changing developmental needs. Her goal is not simply to help families navigate feeding challenges, but to give parents the knowledge, confidence, and compassionate support they need to make informed decisions and experience greater peace throughout their feeding journey.

Tikara believes that maternal mental health is not separate from infant feeding care; it is foundational to it. When parents are supported as whole people, families are better positioned to find feeding approaches that nurture both infant health and parental well-being.