Image courtesy of Martine Lemmens

As a reminder, here are the guidelines that will increase the chances a post will be selected for inclusion in the carnival:
– A well-written, grammatically correct post
– Thoughtful commentary directly on point for the carnival subject
– Overall quality of the rest of your blog and whether the general subject matter is something of interest to our readers (breastfeeding, parenting)

If your post is selected for inclusion, you will be asked on the day of the carnival to publish or re-publish your post with links back to each of the other participants in the carnival.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Newborn breastfeeding in the hospital. Photo courtesy of Daquella Manera

Sutter Davis Hospital in Davis, California

Stephanie Cassidy emailed me the following:

I just wanted to say that my experience at Sutter Davis Hospital in Davis, CA was great! They are pro breast feeding and fully support it. The nurses are encouraging and lactation consultants are available to support and educate you. The thing I liked was that if you chose not to breastfeed, use a pacifier, or supplement you have to sign a waiver. So no one is going to give your baby something you do not want them to have. They encourage breastfeeding on their website: “Breastfeeding allows you and your baby to emotionally bond in a special way that cannot be matched, because breastfeeding meets both the nutritional and nurturing needs.”

I love the use of a waiver! It emphasizes the importance of the decision not to breastfeed.

A Not-So-Good Experience

Kelly wrote to share her less-than-ideal interaction with a hospital lactation consultant:

I had my third daughter one year ago yesterday and I am still breastfeeding. I have now breastfed for a total of 5 1/2 years. I LOVED the hospital she was born at. The only bad experience I had was with the lactation consultant. When I got pregnant with my newest addition I was still nursing my almost 2 1/2 year old. I was slowly weaning her off but once I found out I was pregnant I went ahead and called it quits. I never really dried up completely. When I gave birth to my newest little one I had an emergency C-section (yuck) and I wasn’t able to nurse her until about 5 hours after she was born. They had to keep her in the nursery and as soon as I could feel my legs they let me go down to feed her, she latched on perfectly. I got her in the room that night and was able to feed her with no problem. The next afternoon I was already engorged. The lactation consultant came in and I was very open to her being there. I explained to her that this was my third daughter and I breastfed my oldest for two years and my second for 29 months and that my milk never dried up while I was pregnant. My husband hadn’t brought my pump up yet and that I was so engorged that I wanted the pump for a little relief from the pain, so that I wouldn’t get mastitis and so Chloe could eat more comfortably. She basically told me there was no way that my milk was already in and that I shouldn’t pump the milk out. So I then squirted the milk out across the room. I felt like she thought that I no idea what I was talking about. She basically shrugged off everything I said. At least that’s what I felt. Then she told me how I was holding the baby wrong. I was thinking in my head, You know she is making this very stressful. If I hadn’t been so comfortable with breastfeeding she would possibly be making me not to want to do it at all. Breastfeeding is overwhelming enough to have someone like that making you feel like an idiot. Someone else finally brought the pump to me and I did what I need to with no help from her and everything is still fine today. On a positive note, I was surprised to see the diaper bag for breastfeeding mothers. With my other two daughters there where only the formula bags. It’s nice to see that hospitals are more involved in helping mothers breastfeed. That they even have lactation consultants is wonderful I just happened to get someone that thought she knew everything. All I can say to that is everything isn’t written in black and white, there are other circumstances to what she thought was correct, mine was one of those. I’m not saying that every mother will need to pump like I did. I am now going to school to become a nurse and I will then do what is needed to become a lactation consultant.

Kelly, I laughed out loud at the image of you squirting your breast milk across the room to make a point for that lactation consultant! Good for you! Best wishes for your career training — I can tell that your experience will make you a compassionate and helpful LC!

Other Carnival Participants (Stay tuned as links are posted as they come in!)

The Milk Mama: Newborns, Nursing, and Hospital(ity)
Momma’s Angel: My Hospital Experience in Norway
Hobo Mama: Breastfeeding Support: A Tale of Two Hospitals
Whozat: The Nipple Intervention
The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog: Had a Good or Bad Experience in the Hospital? Tell Them!
BreastfeedingMums: Top Tips for Breastfeeding Success
The Beautiful Letdown: Breastfeeding in the Hospital

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Photo by TheTruthAbout...

As a reminder, here are the guidelines that will increase the chances a post will be selected for inclusion in the carnival:
– A well-written, grammatically correct post
– Thoughtful commentary directly on point for the carnival subject
– Overall quality of the rest of your blog and whether the general subject matter is something of interest to our readers (breastfeeding, parenting)

If your post is selected for inclusion, you will be asked on the day of the carnival to publish or re-publish your post with links back to each of the other participants in the carnival.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Post-It Image by Agata Urbaniak

Today I share a guest submission from a woman who does not have a blog but who felt strongly about sharing her breastfeeding wisdom in hindsight. At the end of her comment you can find the links to all the other carnival participants. First, Crystal offers the following insight:

What I wish I had known…to trust myself and my body to do what nature intended…which I am currently doing with breastfeeding my 7 week old twin boys!!!

I am currently a 27 year old mother of 3 beautiful boys. My first born son was breastfed for 18 months and weaned himself at that time. He breastfed with no problems and is as healthy as can be at the age of 4.5. Now I just recently had twin boys at 38 weeks gestation born on August 26th 2009 who are also breastfeeding on-demand. I had mixed feelings about my body making enough milk and having enough support for me to continue breastfeeding….etc. Many people said I wouldn’t be able to do it and even my boys’ pediatrician said I needed to supplement with formula because they were not gaining enough weight.

My twin boys are very healthy and are gaining weight through breastfeeding only. I am not and will not supplement with formula. My midwives said I am making enough milk for both my boys and that they are breastfeeding beautifully. Also they said that my body knows what it needs to do as long as I am eating and drinking enough. I am an experienced mother and I am experienced at breastfeeding. I must trust myself and my body to do what nature intended it to do:

To breastfeed my babies!!!!

I am happy to say that despite having my up and down days with breastfeeding two babies as it is difficult; I am never going to regret or give up on my decision to breastfeed my boys as they are worth it and much more.

Thank you to all the wonderful breastfeeding mothers who gave me advice, support, and encouragement in breastfeeding my singleton and then again in breastfeeding multiples. I believe in myself and in my body to continue breastfeeding my twin boys!!!

Congratulations Crystal and thanks for your submission!

Other Carnival Participants

Sarah Fancy Pancakes: Wish I’d Heard More Good Things
The Milk Mama: When breastfeeding begins badly, and what I should have done about it
Hobo Mama: What I wish I’d known when I started breastfeeding
My World Edenwild: What I Wish I’d Known Then: A Poem
Happy Bambino: I wish I had known then that it wasn’t up to me alone
Three Girl Pile-Up: 4 things I wish I’d known about breastfeeding
Birth Activist: What I Wish I Would Have Known About Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding Moms Unite!: You Don’t Have to Grin and Bear It
Momma’s Angel: What I Wish I’d Known Then: My List For Next Time
The Starr Family Blogg: I Wish I Would Have Known
Whozat: If I’d Known Then
Massachusetts Friends of Midwives: What I wish I’d known back then about breastfeeding
Fighting Frumpy: When Breastfeeding Feels Wrong
Breastfeeding Mums: 15 Breastfeeding Facts I Wish I’d Known as a First Time Breastfeeding Mum
Cave Mother: Nursing Wisdom
Blacktating: Breastfeeding Is Life-Changing
MumUnplugged: Six Things I Wish I’d Known

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Photo by Leedman

As a reminder, here are the guidelines that will increase the chances a post will be selected for inclusion in the carnival:
– A well-written, grammatically correct post
– Thoughtful commentary directly on point for the carnival subject
– Overall quality of the rest of your blog and whether the general subject matter is something of interest to our readers (breastfeeding, parenting)

If your post is selected for inclusion, you will be asked on the day of the carnival to publish or re-publish your post with links back to each of the other participants in the carnival.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Before Going Back to Work

“Read up on what other women do because you never know what will apply to you in your situation. Get a book on nursing, I like the The Nursing Mother’s Companion guide, so that you can troubleshoot any nursing issues. Your baby will have growth spurts and nursing patterns will change, don’t panic, it’s normal, just nurse on demand whenever you’re with your baby.” ~ Azucar at The Jet Set

“If you are a breastfeeding mom preparing to work outside the home, I’ve found a couple good resources. The first, Nursing Mother, Working Mother, is a book I have flipped through but haven’t read. And I just came across another called The Milk Memos that I would love to read. . . someday. When I have more time.” ~ Christina at The Milk Mama

[Editor: I second all these book recommendations!]

“The week before I went back to work, I started pumping during “work hours” and feeding him by bottle. I thought it may ease the transition to bottle feeding for him if it was me still giving it too him. Also, it would give me a chance to gauge how much milk he was drinking, and if there would be any issues (hello sore nipples!). I’m glad we did this week long “trial run”. I was able to toughen up a little to the new way my breasts were being sucked on, and we also learned that our bottle nipples were too slow flow for him to be satisfied. These were two things we didn’t have to worry about during my first days back.” ~ Victoria

“I think that to be successful breastfeeding and working, it needs to be a very strong commitment. Despite thinking that it’s so hard, I still think it was worth it and would do it again in a heartbeat.” ~ Amber Shah at Project Super Mom

Choosing a Breast Pump

There are lots of options for renting or buying a pump. Working mothers generally find they need a good double electric breast pump.

Medela Freestyle Breast Pump

“I purchased an Ameda double electric. I absolutely love my Ameda and I’ve used it for both babies.” ~ Azucar

Storing Breast Milk

“Freeze your milk in smaller portions, 2-3 ounces. It’s tempting to put 4-6 ounces in a bag, and you can occasionally, but try to keep smaller portions so that you only pull out what you’ll need. Sometimes I’d label the time of day on the bag, or the type of milk (more foremilk, more hindmilk, evening, morning, etc.) to make it easier to mix and match bags.”

“You don’t have to freeze all your pumped milk. You can keep expressed milk in your fridge for a week, so you can combine milk from sessions to make one bottle or for one package. Just use the date of the oldest milk.” ~ Azucar

Dealing with Your Employer

“I spoke with my employer about pumping times and a spot to pump early on, I made it clear to her that this was a priority and in my mind there was no other option but to have the time and place to pump.” ~ Sara

“Really, everything went really smoothly. I work for a very large consumer goods company, who provides a Medela Pump in Style double electric pump to any breastfeeding mom for a small co-pay. I also was offered free lactation counseling, and had the sweetest old lady checking in with me before and after the birth to make sure everything was working smoothly, and to answer any questions I had. She also made a special call just to discuss pumping at work. I work in California, so my employer is required to provide a non-bathroom place to pump. Our campus has two “Nurture Rooms” with a hospital grade pump, a couch and a fridge. Work also provided spare parts for the multi-user pumps (the Medela Lactina, I think). I was pleased that the bottles and horns worked with my Pump-in-Style. There is a small employee lounge right by the restroom closest to my desk which is where I usually pump. I started out pumping three times a day for a few weeks, then moved to twice a day when I realized I could get roughly the same volume of milk in two vs. three pumps. I always pumped way more than I needed, because I was so worried about losing my supply. Fortunately, my milk was abundant, and I have donated over 1000 oz of milk to a family and a milk bank. Once solids were firmly established, around 8 months, I cut back to one pump a day.” ~ Victoria

“Both of my employers were incredibly supportive. My first employer allowed me to bring the baby to work for half days until he was about 3 months old. There was never an issue with taking the time I needed to pump. There was a mother’s lounge type room that was inside the women’s rest room. The lounge had a long, wide chaise and a door that closed and locked. It was marvelous. The only challenge was that there were three or four of us pumping and working. We just emailed each other to coordinate times to use the room if we knew we might want to go about the same time. We usually budgeted about 30 minutes each, just for a little leeway and clean up time.” ~ Azucar

Making It Work

“I dreaded the return from maternity leave to part-time work. I thought of how much I would miss my baby, wondered how I would manage to get myself ready and out the door on time in the morning. I imagined breaking down crying in front of my coworkers from the stress of it all, and I worried that my milk supply would diminish.

But it wasn’t bad. I found some ways to juggle my time, continue to provide breast milk, and spend quality time with my son. I’ve gotten used to this, and I like my part time schedule. I pump 3 times during a full work day to maintain my milk supply and provide milk for the bottles.” ~ Christina

“Pumping can be both a grind and a time to relax during the work day. I had to almost go to another place while pumping, taking deep breaths, thinking of my baby, it’s kind of like meditating at first. It can be a challenge to find that kind of relaxation if you’re stressed from working. And you have to relax, otherwise your milk won’t let down. Pumping just becomes another thing that you do everyday, and you commit to it for your baby. You have to trust that your body will make the milk your baby needs. It’s surprising that working and breastfeeding becomes even more about trusting your body.

Keep a few extra pairs of nursing pads (love Lansinoh in the purple box) in your office or your car. You may think your time for leaking is past, but one day, you may be sitting at your desk and spring a leak.” ~ Azucar

Reverse Cycling (Nursing more at night to make up for the separation during the day)

“My second baby was a reverse cycler. In fact, he would often refuse a bottle until I got home, sometimes not eating for 6 hours. Don’t panic, babies know when they’re hungry. He’d make up for it by nursing while I slept.” ~ Azucar

“Jack started reverse cycling when he was a few months old, waking every 2 hours to nurse. He’s 20 months old now and still has the same night nursing schedule. Some habits are hard to break…” ~ Amber Shah

“This was really hard. From four months to eight or nine months he was feeding at least three times through the night. We eventually started co-sleeping, which helped, but caused other issues for our family that made me have to force the issue of him sleeping in his crib. People have asked me how I handled all the night feedings and going to work in the morning. All I can say is that you just do what you have to do, rise to the occasion, and remember that it’s not forever. I figured that if I couldn’t be with him during that day, then it was good that we got extra time together through the night. It’s a compliment, really, that the baby prefers getting his milk directly from the source…” ~ Victoria

“Knowing that it was likely to happen did help me when it actually happened.” ~ Amber at Strocel.com

Overcoming Challenges

“I made the commitment to myself when I went back that my baby and breastfeeding take priority over my job. This means that if I have to pump, I do, even if it makes me late to a meeting. When I had a clogged duct, I took a sick day to work it out before it got worse. I encourage other moms to keep it up, even when it’s hard. Pumping at work is a big commitment, but if you have to be away from your baby, your milk is the best thing you can leave behind for him. I know pumping can be much more difficult than it was for me, but if you can only bring home 4 ounces a day, it still counts! If your having trouble, get help! Connect with other moms at work who have done the same thing, and don’t give up!” ~ Victoria

“Your baby will go through growth spurts when they want to nurse or eat more often to increase your supply –DO NOT PANIC– simply try to sneak in an extra pumping session or two, even if it’s short like 5-10 minutes, it will help. You can also try to pump after your baby is down for the night, just for a couple days. Your supply will increase and they’ll settle down again into more manageable times.”

“Babymoons are wonderful. If you can spend an occasional day skin to skin with your baby, with free access to nursing, it really helps keep your supply.” ~ Azucar

“I have an oversupply problem so I had to be careful in the beginning not to pump too much or my sensitive supply would go crazy.” ~ Sara

General Tips

“Try something called tandem pumping: when the baby nurses on one side and you pump the other. I did this with the first session of the day, often on Saturdays as well (an extra day or two of pumping on the weekend will sometimes help you get a little supply built up in the freezer. It’s a cushion that keeps your mind at ease.) Get the pump set up at night before you go to bed so you can just roll out and pump/nurse the baby. It’s a little tricky to get the hang of latching the baby and then the pump, but you can figure it out–a nursing pillow, like a Boppy, helped.” ~ Azucar

“By the way, at some point you will leak on your clothes at work. Through the pad. Also – at some point you will spill breastmilk on your clothes during your pumping session. So it would be smart to have a change of clothes packed in the car (no, I’m not that smart).” ~ Amber Shah

“I feel that in order to pump and continue to EBF while working, you need to be completely, 100% committed to breastfeeding. Otherwise it is too easy to start to drop pumping sessions and as a result have a decrease in supply. I also feel so fortunate to be able to be home with my son more days than I am at work…the more days that we breastfeed at home, the better for my supply. If you have any flexibility with your job and finances, work part time. I love my job and the socializing at work and I feel like I have the best of both worlds.” ~ Sara

Things I Wish I’d Known

“I didn’t figure out sleeping with my baby until my second came along. It’s SO MUCH better if you can co-sleep. I got a lot more sleep and my supply never suffered. Co-sleeping is specially helpful when your baby goes through growth spurts and tries to up your milk supply by nursing constantly.” ~ Azucar

“I wish that I hadn’t worried so much about leaving my son. He is with a friend, my mother in law and my husband…I couldn’t have had a better situation and still, I worried. That being said, I know it is completely normal. I had been pumping for about 2 months prior to returning to work and my son was not a bottle lover, so it took a while for him to take to one (Adiri).” ~ Sara

“I would say that one thing I wasn’t prepared for was how time-consuming work-pumping can be. I used to be able to use break time to get things done, go for a walk, and build relationships with my coworkers. Pumping fills all that time. It’s important, and of course it’s worth it for my baby. I just didn’t realize how full my day would feel!” ~ Christina

“I was surprised how normal I felt being back at work. (Of course I would stay home in a second if we could figure out how). I was pretty easily able to slip pumping breaks between meetings. The worst part of working and pumping is washing all the bottles and equipment every night. I really hate doing that.” ~ Victoria

“I went back to work way too early (5 weeks). I think this in large part due to my own insecurity and also PPD. I plan on taking a longer leave next time and would encourage everyone to do the same.” ~ Amber Shah

“I am a very proud breastfeeding mother. Everyone knows that I breastfeed and pump twice daily at work. I am so pleased at the dialogues that have opened up with other women regarding breastfeeding and our children in general. I was amazed at how pumping just becomes a part of what you do during the day. That being said, I can’t say I particularly enjoy pumping and some days I downright hate it! The most difficult part of working and BFing for me is that my son will only fall asleep easily if he is nursed. This has made it difficult at times for others to get him to nap during the day.” ~ Sara

“Something happened that surprised me. I worked Monday / Wednesday / Friday from the office. The other days I was working at home with my daughter. My work days were long – we were apart for 9-10 hours at a stretch. On days when we were together, my daughter nursed frequently. And on days when were apart, my body just adjusted. It was amazing to me how it just seemed to ‘know’ whether it needed to make milk or not, especially because it alternated days. The human body is a truly amazing machine!” ~ Amber

When to Stop Pumping

Many women find that around their baby’s first birthday they no longer need to pump at work and can simply continue to offer the breast when they are at home.

“I pumped until they were both about 13 months, then we kept nursing, just not pumping. It’s kind of crazy to stop pumping after a year of the routine, but one day you just hang up the horns!” ~ Azucar

“I returned to work when my daughter was one year old, since I’m Canadian and we have long maternity leaves. I didn’t do any particular preparation, and I didn’t pump. At that age my daughter wasn’t willing to take a bottle of my milk, and my research suggested that most moms stop pumping around that time anyway.” ~ Amber

“Breastfeeding while working is a commitment, but if you’re planning on extended nursing, you don’t have to feel daunted about the prospect of years of pumping. It’s pretty reasonable to stop pumping when your child turns 1 and can just eat solids during the day, and nurse in the evening and on the weekend.” ~ Amber Shah

Other Carnival Participants

~ Strocel.com: Working and Breastfeeding a Toddler
~ Breastfeeding Moms Unite!: Breastfeeding at My Family Daycare
~ The Milk Mama: A Job Where Everyone Breastfeeds
~ Momnesia the Book: Sorry, Facilities Guy
~ Marshins: Taking Your Working Boobs to Work
~ The Marketing Mama: Working and Pumping
~ Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog: Breastfeeding and Working Is Possible, and You Can Make It Work
~ Chronicles of a Nursing Mom: Do You Really Need a Pump?
~ Vanderbilt Wife: I Think This Officially Makes Me a Mommy Blogger
~ babyREADY: What about Breastfeeding When I Go Back to Work?
~ Stork Stories: My Breast Pump and I Didn’t Get Along
~ Breastfeeding Moms Unite! / Stork Stories: Ask an LC: What about Pumping?
~ Breastfeeding Mums: Breastfeeding and Working in the UK
~ Blacktating: The 5 Biggest Mistakes Working and Pumping Moms Make
~ Mum Unplugged: This Is a Breastfeeding Office
~ Best for Babes: Beating the Employment Booby Trap
~ My World Edenwild: Nursing Mothers Need Workplace Support

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Photo of woman working by Ariel da Silva Parreira

As a reminder, here are the guidelines that will increase the chances a post will be selected for inclusion in the carnival:

– A well-written, grammatically correct post
– Thoughtful commentary directly on point for the carnival subject
– Overall quality of the rest of your blog and whether the general subject matter is something of interest to our readers (breastfeeding, parenting)

If your post is selected for inclusion, you will be asked on the day of the carnival to edit your post to link back to each of the other participants in the carnival.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

In 2004 alone, major emergencies affected nearly 40 million people, including 5.8 million children under the age of five, in 55 countries. The main causes of death among children during emergencies are the same as those occurring among otherwise disadvantaged populations, namely malnutrition, diarrhoeal diseases, acute respiratory infection, measles and malaria. However, emergencies distinguish themselves by their frequently soaring crude mortality rates, which can be two to 70 times higher than average. Experience shows that even in previously healthy populations, child morbidity and crude mortality rates can increase twentyfold in as short a period as two weeks. The best hope for averting the disability and death that are so common among children during emergencies is to ensure that they are adequately cared for and fed.

One might hope that such a dramatic increase in mortality would not be seen in an industrialized nation with advanced medical care like the United States. Yet in 2005, less than a year after that report came out, Hurricane Katrina struck and — not including the immediate death toll — the mortality rate soared in New Orleans! For the six month period starting in January 2006, by some measures the mortality rate increased 47% compared to the mortality rate during the same time period in previous years. Incredibly, January 2006 was a full four months after the hurricane hit and the people in that region continued to suffer such devastating health effects. (It was difficult to determine the mortality rate right after the hurricane due to the disarray of the local health systems and the displacement of the population in the hurricane’s aftermath).

In 2008 researcher Jacqueline H. Wolf reflected back on the media coverage in the immediate wake of the hurricane:

Discussing our culture’s attitude toward breastfeeding in relation to the Katrina disaster would have been a tremendous public service. Think about how much our discomfort with breastfeeding would have been mitigated if one of the Katrina reports contrasted the convenience and dependability of breastfeeding with the difficulty and unreliability of formula feeding. Imagine: images of mothers’ breasts saving babies’ lives. That would have been a national revelation. We talk about the importance of breastfeeding, yet we’re a formula feeding culture. It seemed perfectly natural to all the reporters and much of the viewing audience during Katrina that mothers were hysterical and babies were dehydrated because there was not enough infant formula available. The entire nation seemed to be saying, “Of course that’s a consequence of a hurricane.” No reporter thought to ask, “Why aren’t these women breastfeeding?” No reporter thought to ask, “What roadblocks have we constructed as a nation that would dissuade women from breastfeeding and put their babies through this completely avoidable horror?”

“Got Milk? Not in public!” International Breastfeeding Journal 2008, 3:11. This Medindia article describes one tragic Katrina story:

Some women freeze when it comes to breastfeeding during emergencies and this happens in countries all over the world. When Hurricane Katrina hit the US in 2005, a woman who was stuck on a rooftop with many other family members and with little access to clean water, bottle fed her two week old baby for two weeks and when rescued later, asked for help to dry up her breast milk because her breast felt sore with the accumulated milk. When asked why she didn’t breastfeed her baby the mother replied that she “felt quite unable to do this.” The baby later died in a hospital.

A health counselor who worked with survivors of Katrina said sadly, “What amazes me is that no one with the mother in New Orleans knew to have the mother put her baby to her breast. So many generations had not considered breastfeeding as a way to feed babies that the memory was lost. The baby was lost, also.”

Mothers need to get the message that breastfeeding is a lifesaver, whether it be in regular times or times of emergency. In an emergency mothers who are breastfeeding should continue to do so. Mothers who have recently given birth should put their babies to the breast and mothers who have given birth within six months should nurse and hand-express to build up a milk supply as best as each mother is able. In an emergency, if the mother’s own milk is not available right away or through re-lactation, then donor human milk or wet nursing should be considered. Only then should ready-made formula and canned formula be considered as last resorts.

Other Carnival Entries

Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog: Breastfeeding in Emergency Situations
Blacktating: Breastfeeding and Living through Hurricanes
Hobo Mama: Breastfeeding in Local and Global Crises
Pure Mothers: Marketing away “Real Milk”
Chronicles of a Nursing Mom: Tips for Consistent and Long-Term Breastfeeding Success
Zen Mommy: How Breastfeeding Prepares a Child for Life
Cave Mother: The Moments That Made Me Thankful That I Breastfeed
Fusion Parenting: Breastfeeding: Prepared for LIFE!

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

As a reminder, here are the guidelines that will increase the chances a post will be selected for inclusion in the carnival:

– A well-written, grammatically correct post
– Thoughtful commentary directly on point for the carnival subject
– Overall quality of the rest of your blog and whether the general subject matter is something of interest to our readers (breastfeeding, parenting)

If your post is selected for inclusion, you will be asked on the day of the carnival to edit your post to link back to each of the other participants in the carnival.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

It’s true of nearly any profession. The keys to success are not technical knowledge or even years of experience. As I law student, I was not asked to memorize all the rules of federal, state, and local law. That would be impossible! Instead I was taught how to get at the heart of an issue and how to research and interpret the applicable laws. As a parent, I don’t need a Ph.D. in psychology or years of mothering under my belt. Mainly I need a sympathetic ear and a few resources, friends, and experts to consult. The same is true as a breastfeeding support professional. The most important skills for breastfeeding support are listening, identifying the real issue, and knowing how to find the answers. Sure it would be wonderful to have an encyclopedic knowledge of lactation, but such knowledge won’t get a lactation professional very far if she cannot discern that when a mother says:

“I don’t have enough milk” she often means “My family members want to feed the baby a bottle.” or
“I need to know how to wean my baby” she often means “I’m [going on a trip/need to take a medication/am in pain] and want to continue breastfeeding if it’s possible.” and
“Are there just some women who cannot breastfeed?” she often means “I want your permission to wean.”

Listening

Offering effective support. Photo by Shlomit Wolf.

Researching

I might not know off the top of my head whether a specific antibiotic can be taken safely while breastfeeding, but I know how to consult LactMed and Medications and Mothers Milk: A Manual of Lactational Pharmacology. I also know how to share the correct information with the mother, reassure her that the doctor who told her she needed to wean in order to take the medication was mistaken, and offer ideas on how the mother can talk to that doctor about continuing to breastfeed while taking the medication.

Offering Empathy and Guidance

Sometimes the best response is not:

“Here is my advice.” but “That must be so difficult.” and not
“The answer is….” but “I will be happy to find out for you.” and not
“You should….” but “Here are some of your options.”

Only when a mother feels heard and understood has the lactation counselor succeeded at breastfeeding support.

Your Experience

Was a lactation consultant or breastfeeding counselor particularly helpful to you, and if so, how? If you are a lactation professional, what do you consider your most valuable skill?

Other Carnival Participants

Angie Tillman, RD, LDN, CDE – You Are Beautiful Today
Anthony J. Sepe – Women’s Health and Migraines
Ashley Colpaart – Women’s health through women
Charisse McElwaine – Spending too much time on the “throne?”
Danielle Omar – Yoga, Mindful Eating and Food Confidence
Diane Preves M.S.,R.D – Balance for Health
Joan Sather – A Woman’s Healthy Choices Affect More Than Herself
Laura Wittke – Fibro Study Recruits Participants
Liz Marr, MS, RD – Reflecting on Family Food Ways and Women’s Work
Marjorie Geiser, MBA, RD, NSCA-CPT – Healthy Women, Healthy Business: How Your Health Impacts a Powerful Business
Marsha Hudnall – Breakfast Protein Helps Light Eaters Feel Full
Michelle Loy, MPH, MS, RD – A Nutritionista’s Super Foods for Super Skin
Monika Woolsey, MS, RD – To effectively work with PCOS is to understand a woman’s health issues throughout her life
Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog – How breastfeeding helps you, too
Rebecca Scritchfield, MA, RD, LD – Four Keys to Wellness, Just for Women
Renata Mangrum, MPH, RD – The busy busy woman
Robin Plotkin, RD, LD – Feeding the Appetites of the Culinary, Epicurious and Nutrition Worlds-One Bite at a Time
Sharon Solomon – Calories, longevity and do I care
Terri L Mozingo, RD, CDN & D. Milton Stokes, MPH, RD, CDN of One Source Nutrition, LLC – Crossing the Line: From Health to Hurt
Wendy Jo Peterson, RD – Watch Your Garden Grow

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