Before You Breastfeed: 10 Tips for New Breastfeeding Moms

Before You Breastfeed: 10 Tips for New Breastfeeding Moms

Could that green smoothie be reducing your milk supply?

Could that green smoothie be reducing your milk supply?

Is Breastfeeding Revolutionary?

Is Breastfeeding Revolutionary?

How long can you store breastmilk?

Wondering how long it is appropriate to store breastmilk?

Check out the Motherlove blog for answers.

Can a Change in Pediatric Office Policy Begin to Change the Culture of Infant Feeding?

Can a Change in Pediatric Office Policy Begin to Change the Culture of Infant Feeding?

This is a really interesting piece from an IBCLC on a study that I found pretty intriguing.

Michigan study addresses breastfeeding and low-income mothers

A New study out of Michigan State University says less than 2 percent of low-income mothers met their breastfeeding goals- a drastic decline compared with a more affluent population - and a lack of support and available resources appears to play a key role. The low-income mothers reported the obstacles they encountered when breastfeeding led them to stop sooner than they planned. Compared with the more affluent mothers, they appeared to have fewer resources that would help them navigate obstacles successfully. "In the past, the solution often was just to provide free formula to low-income mothers eligible for aid," a researcher was quoted. "Now there has been much more of a focus on providing information about breastfeeding to new mothers, rather than formula being the first option."


Dr. Sears' page on breastfeeding

Breastfeeding protects against asthma

This is an interesting study -- it tells us that ANY breastfeeding helps to protect against asthma. So even if you will be returning to work or aren't sure you will be able to nurse long, there are great reasons to breastfeed while you can.

Breastfeeding protects against asthma

Chiropractic May Help New Mothers Produce Milk

There is so much information out there about chiropractic care, and the many benefits it has for mother and baby. Did you know chiropractic care may help new mothers produce milk?

Wow! Being "well-adjusted" really is pretty amazing!

Why do babies seem more full on formula?

Why do babies seem more full on formula?

Trusting Your Body to Feed Your Baby

Trusting Your Body to Feed Your Baby

Breast Cancer Risk Reduced by 50 Percent By Breastfeeding for Two or More Years

Breast Cancer Risk Reduced by 50 Percent By Breastfeeding for Two or More Years

 "What he found was a 50 percent reduction in breast cancer risk among those women who breastfed for more than 24 months per child, compared to women who breastfed their children for less than 12 months.

"Zheng said the breastfeeding for more than 24 months also has a long term effect. It was found not only to reduce the risk of breast cancer diagnosed among pre-menopausal women, it was also found to reduce the risk of breast cancer among post-menopausal women as well."

Formula vs. Human Milk - Ingredients

It's not new, but it doesn't make it any less interesting! Take a peek at the human milk vs. formula ingredient lists.

Dads on Understanding Breastfeeding

Here is a great video...Dads on Understanding Breastfeeding

Making More Milk: Tips For Boosting Low Milk Supply (Supply and Demand)

Making More Milk: Tips For Boosting Low Milk Supply (Supply and Demand)

Green and Bitchy: Lactation Counselor and Mom of Five

Green and Bitchy: Lactation Counselor and Mom of Five...An interesting blog to check out, especially if you deal with food allergies.

WIC and Formula Companies

I had no idea WIC distributed more than half the infant formula sold in the US. What are your thoughts on this? Can more be done to support breastfeeding, rather than subsidizing formula usage?

Fluid Causing Breastfeeding Failure?

Check out this piece on IV fluid and breastfeeding

"During an epidural continuous IV fluid will be given throughout the course of labour and if over several hours this could be several litres. A pregnant women already carries an increased fluid volume and add to that the antidiuretic hormone, vasopressin, which exacerbates the fluid retention further and we can see how this is often responsible for breast and areola oedema we see at 2-4 days postpartum. This oedema and engorgement can last for up to 14 days."

Reverse Pressure Softening

Interesting article! And apparently this can help moms who have edema (swelling) from lots of IV fluids, which may interfere with baby's ability to latch in the early days of breastfeeding.
 

Oh no, I’ve become one of THEM!

I was doing some work on the Cyber Doulas blog recently, and I noticed a rather distinct imbalance of information. There were 30 links to articles about breastfeeding, and another three about formula. Guess what? None of them said, “If it’s the right thing for your situation, go ahead and give that baby a bottle. It’s OK.”

And I am kind of sorry for that.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge supporter of breastfeeding. As we speak, I am nursing a baby who will be two years old in less than a month, I recently started a breastfeeding support group in my town, and I am studying to become a lactation consultant. I couldn’t be more supportive of breastfeeding, and I think it is hugely important that women have the support they need in order to nurse their children for as long as they choose.

But I also know – quite personally – that not all women have that support.

I had children young. My son was born three weeks before my 19^th birthday, and two daughters arrived in rapid succession. I did not have a strong support system (my ex-husband and I split up for the second, and final, time when baby number three was just shy of two), and there were a lot of things unhealthy in my life.

But I was a good mom, and I did everything for those three little people that I possibly could. Unfortunately, breastfeeding just didn’t seem to be in the cards for us.

My son came into the world following a rather eventful (read: difficult) pregnancy. I was on bed rest for several months for pre-term labor and preeclampsia, and ended up being induced on his estimated due date. Even with all that, I was absolutely adamant that I would have as “natural” a labor as possible. I had taken childbirth education classes, and I knew the benefits, and the risks of medication for baby. I was driven, and with my doula by my side, I fought for what I wanted. Alas, after a long Pitocin-fed labor, baby boy C was delivered by emergency cesarean.

I knew that breastfeeding was the right choice for my baby, and as soon as we could be back together after the surgery, we worked to initiate the breastfeeding relationship. Hours had passed by then, and we were both traumatized from the days we had just experienced.

We had mixed success in the first days. A lactation consultant came to the hospital room to work with us, and while she was supportive and kind, I felt an overwhelming pressure to succeed. There simply didn’t seem to be an option. Human breasts were made to nourish human babies…why was this so hard for me? What was it about me that caused me to struggle with this (seemingly basic) breastfeeding thing? What was my problem?!?

After five days in the hospital we went home, and the struggles continued, as did the pressure. When mixed success started turning into absolute failure, a local program provided a lactation consultant to come to my home. I wanted this to work, so I followed all of their advice. I didn’t give my son a bottle (although it turns out he had been given a few in the hospital, thanks to some “helpful” labor and delivery nurses) or pacifier.

When engorgement became a severe issue, I pumped. Then I pumped some more. And some more. Wow, I pumped a lot in those first weeks.

We fed C from a tiny plastic cup, with a syringe, with everything but a bottle. Looking back (with my now far broader knowledge base) I know there are other things I could have done, but at the time, I did all I could. I know now that I was probably suffering from some postpartum depression, and my home situation was definitely not conducive to working through the issues baby and I were experiencing.

When tiny C was three weeks old, I threw in the towel and decided to bottle feed him. It was one of the hardest decisions of my life – and one of the best for my relationship with my son. Without this total awfulness looming over our heads, we were able to move on with our lives and become a happy, healthy mother/son pair.

I stopped feeling like a failure and started feeling like a mom.

One of my strongest memories from this time was women I coined “nursing Nazis.” These women, both online and in person, made me feel as though the decision I had made was akin to leaving my baby on a doorstep somewhere. My heart told me I had made the right choice, but I allowed others to make me second-guess myself. Constantly.

I am well aware that some of those feelings were probably self-created due to the guilt I felt over not breastfeeding. But I also know that not all of them were. And 14-years-later-me has not done enough to help moms in that situation feel good about their parenting choices.

The moral of the story? If it’s the right thing for your situation, go ahead and give that baby a bottle. It’s OK.

Is Nursing Bad?

The Leaky Boob discusses nursing with her older children in the piece, "Is Nursing Bad?"