Breastfeeding: It’s Not Just About the Milk

As you know, your milk is a wondrous thing. It is uniquely designed for your baby, changes by the minute and by the day and is the perfect nutrition for your baby no matter what her age. It is also full of antibodies, long-chain fatty acids and protects your baby from illness. It’s always the perfect temperature. It tastes like ice cream. You always have it with you. It’s free! You will never have to worry about a batch of your milk being recalled. Still, as great as your milk is; for your baby, breastfeeding is about much more than the milk. Continue reading

Which Hygeia Breast Pump is Right for YOU?

One of the great things about Hygeia is that their fantastic professional-grade breast pump comes in 2 different versions. It’s nice to have choices. But choices can sometimes be confusing—especially when you are a sleep-deprived mother of a new baby.

The nice folks at Hygeia could have made it a lot easier on all of us by coming up with names that made sense. EPS? LBI? What the heck do those mean exactly? I finally have it all figured out and it’s really very simple once you understand that those abbreviations really mean very little. Just trust me as I describe each pump in detail. Continue reading

“Lactation Consultant”: What Does That Mean?

Lately there seems to be a lot of confusion about just who is qualified to dispense breastfeeding advice. Historically, the term “lactation consultant”refers to a health care professional who has met the qualifications for, and passed the exam given by, the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners. Passing the exam permits her to use the letters IBCLC after her name. Unfortunately the term “lactation consultant” is not trademarked so there are no regulations about who uses that term. If you’re seeking help for breastfeeding be sure that your consultant has received extensive training, including at least 500 supervised clinical hours specific to lactation.

In the last 10 years or so some organizations have begun offering certifications for programs that involve a mere week or so of didactic instruction. The coursework is valuable, but does not provide the depth and breadth of training required to become IBCLC. On the other hand, other healthcare professionals, such as MD’s, have 1000’s of hours of clinical training and experience, but usually very little in the area of lactation.

Here is a partial list of professionals and others who sometimes get confused with lactation consultants. This list pertains to the US only. Other countries have different certifications. Continue reading

Breastfeeding Partners in Love: The New Sexy

Let’s face it—after having a baby nearly everything about your relationship with your partner is different. You are both sleep deprived, she is experiencing wild hormonal changes as well as recovering from childbirth and possibly even surgery. You are looking at your wife as a new person. She is suddenly a mother. The mother of your baby. Continue reading

Breastfeeding and Work–Alice’s Story

Multi-tasking!

Multi-tasking!

Alice came to me concerned about how she was going to keep breastfeeding once she returned to her full-time career. In her workplace, there is no such thing as 9-5. Everyone is expected to put in long days. I talked to her about asking for what she needed and setting some limits. We also talked about creative ways to meet her baby’s needs. She took my suggestions and ran with them—developing her own, unique style. Many thanks to Alice for sharing how she has managed to maintain her breastfeeding relationship and continue her fast-paced work life.

Christian is a big, healthy boy who is now enjoying solid foods in addition to mommy’s milk. Here is her success story: Continue reading