Congratulations! Twins! Twice the fun! We all know that human breastmilk is best for human babies. This holds especially true for twins. Breastfeeding one baby can be challenging. Having twins offers even more possibilities of potential problems so being prepared is important. What you can do before your babies are born? Take a breastfeeding class or meet with an experienced IBCLC …
Benefits of Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding Secrets
At this point in my career I have seen thousands of mothers and babies. Something that has always struck me that mothers share is that they will be somehow "trapped" by breastfeeding their babies. They will be too close to their babies. They will loose themselves. I remember this feeling as a young mother! Mothers talk to me about needing schedules, limiting time at the breast, not wanting to …
The breastfeeding study I want and why it will never be done
I was just looking over a 2013 meta-analysis on the long term benefits of breastfeeding. It was done by the World Health Organization so I know I can trust the results. Two things struck me. One, how few quality studies we have on breastfeeding. The second thing that really hit me was the fact that many of these studies were looking at babies who were formula feed and babies who were breastfeed, …
Purposeful parent confusion?
There are many things that happen that make me upset. You too? I know! However, what really get my goat is when things are done, in what appears to be in an intentional way, to purposefully confused unsuspecting people (in my case parents) for their own profit and potentially to the unsuspecting person's determent. One example of this is human milk donation. Most people who donate their …
Bursting Out of the Closet, into Spring, Breastfeeding in Public
March is the time for new beginnings. Shaking off the blah of winter. Let's come out of our houses and apartments and breastfeed whereever we want, with confidence knowing that we are doing the best thing possible for our babies and our communities. Be bold! We all need some fresh air and a new attitude about breastfeeding in public! I live in a town where breastfeeding in public is pretty well …
Top Five Reasons Mothers Stop Breastfeeding- Don’t Become a Statistic!
1. It hurts! I know people say that pain is normal at the beginning of breastfeeding. I disagree. While it is common for there to be pain in the beginning, it is not normal. It may be sensitive, a bit tender, but not out right pain. If you have pain that is not getting better or getting worse, if you have visible damage, blood, scabbing, blistering, get help! This is not normal. 2. You …
Is Breastfeeding Bad for Our Babies and Ourselves?
There was just a book published, Your Breasts Are Trying to Kill You, by author Florence Williams. It seems as though she is taking a serious, yet humorous look at what our breasts do and don't do for us. I think there is much truth in this book. I haven't read it yet, just the review, but have ordered it and will read it. More to come on that. That is not what I want to talk about. I want …
Being A Parent is Hard!
Parenting is hard! I just read an article on parenting research and had to respond. The article is about a study which found that parenting basically sucks and we are lying to ourselves if we say otherwise. This research paper was published in Psychological Science. Research proves parenting is costing us $193,000 and change per child to raise them, and this doesn't take into account the …
Diabetes Prevention and Breastfeeding
Why are diabetes cost are going through the roof? According to an article in the New York Times, it is costing us $174 billion dollars a year to cover the health costs of people who have developed diabetes in their life time. More and more of our population is developing diabetes. "“Diabetes is the noninfectious epidemic of our time,” said Dr. Ronald Loeppke, vice chairman of U.S. Preventive …
Breastfeeding is Green in Ann Arbor!
From 6-9 this Friday, June 11th, Ann Arbor will be hosting our Green Fair on Main Street. This exciting event celebrates and shares what businesses and organizations are doing to help our environment. I heard about this fair last year. One of my neighbors, John Harding has an electric scooter business and he was going to have a booth at the Green Fair. I thought the idea of a “green fair” was …
Breastfeeding: What does the Research say?
Wow! Who knew that feeding a baby could be so controversial! I want to make sure it is clear that it is my job to help mothers feed their babies in the manner of their choosing. I get calls all the time from families who want to/need to wean, and from formula feeding families who have questions about appropriate feeding for their babies. There is not much support out there, period, and I …
What Formula Feeding is Costing US
Lately, there has been quite a bit of reporting in the news about artificial baby milk (formula) feeding. The costs of our mothers choosing to feed their babies formula is tremendous. According to one recent study, if mothers breastfed their babies for six months we would save staggering amounts of money each year. “The United States incurs $13 billion in excess costs annually and suffers 911 …
Breastfeeding Rates in the US
What has gone so wrong with breastfeeding in our country? The United States lags behind most nations around the world in our breastfeeding initiation rates. However, more importantly perhaps, is how short our breastfeeding duration rates are. The majority of US mothers are all for giving breastfeeding a shot. The percentage of mothers who “ever breastfeed” after birth is between 48.3% in …
Why do I have a job?
One of the things I think about a lot is why do I have a job? If breastfeeding is so natural, why do people need me to help them get started with breastfeeding or continue when their babies are older. There are many reasons for this in my opinion. (Remember, this is where I get to just say what I think! I may be right or wrong. If there is research to back things up, I'll share that too when …