Aleksandra (Aleks) Popkowska, M.S., CCC-SLP, IBCLC, NTMTC, is a Neonatal and Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and Neonatal Touch and Massage Therapist Certified provider, who currently works in a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the NYC-area.
As a full-time clinician working with premature, medically fragile infants and complex pediatric patients, Aleks works to provide recommendations and treatment of feeding and swallowing disorders, lactation support to mothers of breastfeeding infants, and facilitate neuroprotective care strategies to promote bonding and development within a Family Centered Care Model in the NICU.
Given her accomplishments, she continues to strive to provide opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, appropriate care and bonding in the NICU through her voluntary collaboration with Project Sweet Peas, a non-profit organization working to support families of premature or sick infants and to those who have been affected by pregnancy and infant loss. She has introduced various Quality Improvements measures on her unit, such as NICU Bonding Hearts, which are heart-shaped scent pads provided to mothers and infants for positive sensory experiences and Milk tastes, a continuation of colostrum care to facilitate continued oropharyngeal stimulation in the hopes of improving feeding readiness and oral intake in these fragile populations.
Aleks obtained her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY and completed her Clinical Fellowship in Neonatal and Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology at New-York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. In her free time she enjoys reading thriller/scary novels, playing with her kitten Binx, and taking walks around the water by Hoboken with her partner, Danielle.