All Things Breastfeeding Podcast

If you are a parent who is passionate about lactation support OR a professional who works with breastfeeding families and you want to turn your passion for breastfeeding into professional practice, check out LactaLearning.com and consider following us on social media!

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If you are a parent and wanting to learn more from the Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor, you can find us at:

BFCAA.com

Instagram @breastfeedingcenterannarbor

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The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 86: Emily’s Returning to Work and Breastfeeding Story appeared first on The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.

We have another parent interview episode! We were thrilled when Alicia reached out to us from across the country to offer to share different parts of her feeding journey with baby Grant, especially factors related to returning to work and breastfeeding. We discussed Grant’s week-long nursing strike soon after Alicia returned to work, the intense emotions involved, and what helped resolve that difficult time. Next, Alicia gives lots of ideas about traveling and pumping, which she learned from her regular multi-day work trips. Her tips will be helpful to anyone traveling without the baby, and/or flying with a pump. And, make sure to listen to the end about what happened after Grant was done weaning! (If you would like to be featured on an episode, send us an email!)

Resources:

If you are a parent who is passionate about lactation support OR a professional who works with breastfeeding families and you want to turn your passion for breastfeeding into professional practice, check out LactaLearning.com and consider following us on social media!

Instagram @lacta.learning

Facebook LactaLearning

Blog 

If you are a parent and wanting to learn more from the Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor, you can find us at:

BFCAA.com

Instagram @breastfeedingcenterannarbor

Facebook

Blog & Podcast

The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 85: Alicia’s Returning to Work, Travel and Breastfeeding Story appeared first on The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.

Did you know there are new guidelines for diagnosing and treating jaundice and infant hypoglycemia?  In this episode, Barbara Robertson and Nancy Mohrbacher discuss updates to the clinical practice guidelines for safe bilirubin levels and when babies might need intervention.

Nancy and Barbara review why bilirubin levels are important and some of the risk factors, like baby’s gestational age.  And there’s the question, is a baby’s stooling is a good indicator of milk input and bilirubin levels?

It’s also important to remember that when babies are diagnosed and treated for high bilirubin levels, there can be longer-term effects on breastfeeding and how parents view their baby. Nancy describes a recent study that compares the impact of the new guidelines versus the previous guidelines, and how this may lead to changes in the approach to monitoring and treating jaundice.

They discuss the importance of skin-to-skin contact and its impact on bilirubin levels.  Barbara and Nancy also talk about the use of oral dextrose gel to treat infant hypoglycemia, as an alternative to formula.

This is one of a series of podcasts that shares new research related to the breast/chestfeeding / lactation / infant feeding world as Barbara Robertson and Nancy Mohrbacher work on the newest edition of Breastfeeding Answers! You can also have access to the newest research and Barbara and Nancy’s reflections on these studies by subscribing to LactaLearning’s newsletter or following LactaLearning on Instagram or Facebook!

Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine protocols #1, #22: https://www.bfmed.org/protocols

Kemper, 2022. “Clinical Practice Guideline Revision: Management of Hyperbilirubinemia in the Newborn Infant 35 or More Weeks of Gestation” –https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35927462/

Sarathy, 2024.  “Bilirubin Measurement and Phototherapy Use After the AAP 2022 Newborn Hyperbilirubinemia Guideline” – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38482582/

If you are a parent who is passionate about lactation support OR a professional who works with breastfeeding families and you want to turn your passion for breastfeeding into professional practice, check out LactaLearning.com and consider following us on social media!

If you are a parent and want to learn more from the Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor, you can find us at:

The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 84: Jaundice and Infant Hypoglycemia appeared first on The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.

How important are our communication skills as lactation professionals for our families’ success? This episode is all about the power of words as lactation supporters to boost or undermine our nursing families self efficacy. Barbara and Jessica discuss how the social emotional state of breast/chestfeeding families plays a huge role in the postpartum period and whether or not a family will achieve their infant feeding goals. With all the voices directed at families in the post-partum period, our words as health care providers can be that of empowerment or dis-empowerment. Do we take this seriously enough? We know the social emotional health of our families is important, but have we given it enough weight? Are we considering the weight of how our words are impacting their social emotional state? Give this podcast a listen to dig into this topic more. Barbara shares examples of how this plays out with real life families and introduces new research that emphasizes the importance of how confident families feel and how that correlates to their success at reaching their infant feeding goals.

This is one of more podcasts that will be sharing new research related to the breast/chestfeeding / lactation / infant feeding world as Barbara Robertson and Nancy Morbacher work on the newest edition of Breastfeeding Answers! You can also have access to the newest research and Barbara and Nancy’s reflections on these studies by joining LactaLearning’s newsletter or following LactaLearning on Instagram or Facebook!

Research studies referenced in this podcast:

Dagli, 2023 “The effect of online hypno-breastfeeding and solution-focused psychoeducation on mothers’ breastfeeding motivation and perception of insufficient milk: Randomize controlled study” – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37917809/

Aderibigbe, 2023 “Psychometric testing of the breastfeeding self-efficacy scale to measure exclusive breastfeeding in African American women: a cross-sectional study” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37822543/

If you are a parent who is passionate about lactation support OR a professional who works with breastfeeding families and you want to turn your passion for breastfeeding into professional practice, check out LactaLearning.com and consider following us on social media!

If you are a parent and want to learn more from the Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor, you can find us at:

The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 83: The Power of Words and Breastfeeding Success appeared first on The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.

Lots of families are using formula to feed their babies, either partially or fully, short-term or long-term. But there’s not a lot of info shared with parents on how to feed formula in the healthiest way. In today’s episode, we share some guidelines and ideas on bottle feeding techniques, appropriate amounts based on age and baby’s size, preparing formula bottles, and more. We also discuss the emotions that can come with needing to use formula, especially for families that didn’t plan to or want to. And, we absolutely support families who plan to use formula from the start, or decide to transition to it at any point! There are so many ways feeding journeys can look. We hope this helps answer some questions or gives ideas on how to feed with formula. 

Links and resources mentioned:

If you are a parent who is passionate about lactation support OR a professional who works with breastfeeding families and you want to turn your passion for breastfeeding into professional practice, check out LactaLearning.com and consider following us on social media!

If you are a parent and want to learn more from the Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor, you can find us at:

If you want to learn more about formula feeding, check out some of our other posts or podcasts below!:

The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 82: All About Formula Feeding appeared first on The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.

Breastfeeding/chestfeeding should not be painful! Ongoing and significant breastfeeding pain is a sign that something is wrong. Unfortunately, Julie‘s feeding journey was full of pain for the first few months! She was in a lot of discomfort both while the baby was feeding, later in between feeds and throughout the day as well. It turned out this was from multiple causes. If you are a lactation professional, this is a great episode to learn from a case study around how to navigate a complex case of pain. If you are a parent, this could be a good episode to learn what kinds of things can cause breastfeeding pain and how to recognize the signs of what is not normal to seek out help from an IBCLC. Listen to Julie‘s experience looking for answers and finally getting resolutions and pain-free breastfeeding (yay!). In this episode, you will also hear a bit about Jessica’s clinical experience of the identifying reasons and possible solutions for Julie‘s symptoms as an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant). If you are a breastfeeding parent experiencing pain, we encourage you to reach out for support in your area right away! We also provide virtual consultations that you can schedule at bfcaa.com

The post All Things Breastfeeding Ep 81: Julie’s story resolving ongoing breastfeeding pain appeared first on The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.

The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 80: Tara’s Story Pt 2 appeared first on The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.

The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 79: Tara’s Story Pt 1 appeared first on The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.

The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 78: Liz’s Breastfeeding and Induced Lactation Story appeared first on The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.

New Mastitis protocol?

Yes, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine has added a new protocol, #36, the Mastitis Protocol. Actually, it is updated but the ideas in it are so revolutionary, it may as well be new!

Dr. Katrina Mitchell was a major force behind these changes. She had noticed in her clinic as a Breastfeeding Medicine Doctor, that parents with recurrent mastitis tended to be massaging their breasts like crazy to “get out plugs”. She believed doing this then led to more plugs!

Go to her amazing site, The Physicians Guide to Breastfeeding to learn more.

Jessica and Barbara actually had discovered these ideas on their own several years ago with Jessica’s own experience with recurrent plugs. Did she massage like crazy? No! She used cool, Ibuprofen, and gentle touch to help resolve her plugs.

Basically, inside the breast/chest, there is not a “piece” of something blocking the way like a literal plug in a bathtub. Rather the area around the milk duct becomes swollen and is pinching off the ability for the milk to flow down and out.

Think about a sprained ankle. Would we massage it to death? Or put warmth on it? No, just like mastitis, we want to reduce swelling by cool and maybe some anti-inflammatory medication if it is safe to take.

The other idea to consider, is some very gentle massaging (and I mean GENTLE) away from the breast. If you go through the area it can help to help the lymphatic system to help drain away the extra edema (the swelling).

If you are struggling with plugged ducts, please consider a consultation! We can help!

To learn more about lactation consider one of our amazing Professional Lactation Trainings!

We offer two 95 hour courses, several books groups, and many short courses to help with re-certification!

The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 77: Plugged Ducts and Mastitis New Protocol appeared first on The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.