Born to be Breastfed

In 1986, Linda J. Smith wrote an article titled, “How to Make Breastfeeding Difficult.” More recently, the article has been posted on several contemporary web sites. Why is it that a tongue-in-cheek article enjoys such popularity 30 years after it was written?

Join Marie and her guest, Linda J. Smith MPH, IBCLC, FACCE, FILCA, as they review outdated information, unsubstantiated advice, and derogatory comments from healthcare professionals, family and others. If you’ve been led to believe that sore nipples are “normal”, or that the baby must “get used to” a bottle, or that you don’t have enough milk to grow your baby, stay tuned while Marie and Linda debunk these and other decades-old yet contemporary myths. If you’ve been bombarded by these or many other baseless comments that undermine your confidence or make breastfeeding difficult for you, stay tuned for a very lively discussion.

Happy World Breastfeeding Week! This year’s theme is 'Sustainable Development,' and the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative -BFHI- is an essential element on that—helping to secure health for all in a highly sustainable way from the start. Join Marie to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the BFHI with a physician and health advocate who was a key player in launching BFHI. Mark A. Belsey MD, former head of WHO’s maternal and child health division, gives us an inside look at the international effort that gave birth to BFHI. If you’ve been thinking that 'baby-friendly' is a US thing, or a new approach to mother-baby care, you need to tune in for the real story.

Join Marie as she talks with Dr. Belsey about how he and the late James Grant realized that breastfeeding was an essential to the WHO’s mission of 'Health for All' worldwide and developed the BFHI. It wasn’t a smooth ride, but it has been vitally important to global health, as the 25 years since its inception have shown.

Babies can be born with a wide variety of congenital conditions that create unusual hurdles for the breastfeeding journey. Only rarely, though, is breastfeeding impossible. Unfortunately, many parents of babies who are born with a cleft lip and/or palate are told they cannot breastfeed. Before you accept this opinion, before you give up and formula-feed, listen to this episode.

Marie and her guest, Leslie Turner, RN IBCLC provide an experience-based look at the needs and feeding options for babies with cleft lip and/or palate. You’ll find out how an interdisciplinary cleft team can provide support for breastfeeding success. Discover how to develop and carry out a plan to breastfeed your baby as fully as possible, and recognize the importance of adjusting that plan after the baby’s surgery. Learn how to access the many resources that are available in your community, and online. For babies affected with cleft lip and/or palate, breastfeeding is not only optimal, it’s usually possible.

Are you facing circumstances that seem “set” by others? Did you have a birth experience different from what you had planned? It’s easy to feel powerless. Maybe you planned to breastfeed early and often, but your baby had a hard time latching or was admitted to the NICU. Maybe she was healthy, but you felt pressured by hospital staff to supplement with formula. Maybe you developed sore nipples or mastitis. Maybe she was colicky. Any number of factors could lead to feelings of disappointment, helplessness, or powerlessness.

Listen as Marie and special guest Rebecca Hall Gruyter talk about steps for empowering yourself every day in every circumstances. Learn how to be intentional in your actions, and to recognize the choices you have. Tune in for a conversation about how breastfeeding, perhaps more than any other activity you might do, is a way to serve another from a state of abundance. Rebecca’s motto is “living on purpose, with purpose.” Here’s your opportunity to do just that!

Eating disorders affect as many as 30 million people in the United States. And, although they have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness, eating disorders are seriously undertreated. Tragically, among those who seek treatment for anorexia each year, 1 in 100 will die; up to 20% will die within a year as the result of complications from the eating disorder, or suicide.

In today’s episode, Marie talks with Jacklyn Novatt, who nearly became one of those statistics. Luckily, she got help. Better yet, Jackie beat the anorexia in time to become pregnant and successfully give birth to and breastfeed twins. And in a wonderful “surprise ending” you’ll hear how the pregnancy and breastfeeding was a critical turning point for her.

Join Marie and Jackie and discover how to recognize the classic symptoms of anorexia, how to help a loved one get into treatment and support them in their recovery, and how to separate fact from fiction about anorexia.

Whether you are studying for an exam, trying to kick a bad habit, or shooting a basketball from the free-throw line, you know that it’s easier to succeed when you feel the support and encouragement of someone cheering you on. You’ve said you’re committed to giving your baby only your milk for 6 months, but you haven’t sought out a mother-to-mother support group for it. Maybe you don’t feel you have the time or energy for it. Maybe you’re not sure if it matters.

Join Marie and special guest Melanie Tarr, IBCLC, as they discuss one secret to meeting your goal for exclusive breastfeeding: getting the right support. Learn how to draw support from individuals or groups that you feel comfortable with (locally or online). Find out how groups vary, what traits can make a difference, and how mother-to-mother support can be a game-changer for some women. Stick around to hear some tips for what to say—and not say—to mothers who might be struggling.

Men don’t breastfeed. But they do have a significant role in mothers’ decisions about initiating and continuing breastfeeding. However, even the most well-intentioned new fathers often lack the information they need about what to say, or what to do, to help mothers accomplish their breastfeeding goals.

Join Marie and special guest nurse, midwife, and author Mark Harris for an eye-opening talk about the how fathers influence breastfeeding and, consequently, their family health and wellness. A father of six, grandfather of six, with more than 20 years of midwifery experience, Mark highlights the unique role of fathers in supporting (or undermining) the breastfeeding mother. Get Mark’s take on who the breasts are for (the baby or the father), what words can seriously undermine the mother’s intentions, why feeding from a bottle should be avoided, and much more. Tune in for discussion of how the father can help or hinder breastfeeding.

Your baby needs to nurse. But when you sit down with her, you find yourself thinking something like “What am I doing? I have so much to do. This takes so much time!” Yet, you are taking the time to nurse because you know it’s important. What’s a nursing mother to do?

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Listen as Marie’ guest, Jill Farmer, explains how you can’t manage your time; you can only manage your focus. Find out how you can accomplish more meaningful activities in less time. Jill will help you see how productivity is more dependent the mindset you have than on the tips you use. (But she does give tips!) And, she’ll also show you how to stop subconsciously sabotaging precious time, and how to shift patterns in your life so that you can do what you need to do and yet enjoy your breastfeeding journey.

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Maybe you’ve tried every tip and trick but still feel overwhelmed. This is a “must-listen” for every mother who feels caught between the many “must do”s in her life.

Recently, everyone seems to be exploring the touted benefits of essential oils. But hardly anyone knows what to believe! Are they safe? Effective? What about nursing mothers? Do any or all of these essential oils actually work to treat common postpartum ailments or breastfeeding problems? And, if they are said to be safe and effective, how do we know that information is credible?

Join Marie and her guest, certified aromatherapist Lea Harris, as they provide answers you wish you knew. Here, you’ll discover which essential oils most experts consider to be safe or unsafe for breastfeeding mothers, what essential oils might be helpful for postpartum problems like yeast or thrush, postpartum cramps, sleep issues and more. Get the real scoop on shelf life. And, if you’re trying to find your own informational resources or buy your own essential oils, you’ll get solid tips how to spot trustworthy quality—as well as the fakes the frauds. And, listeners will get Lea’s special discount offer!

Not long ago, all U.S. babies were born at home. But by 1921, 30 to 50 percent were born in hospitals. This led to “separation” practices that soon dominated the way babies came into the world—from weighing them right away (instead of placing them on their mothers) to keeping them in the nursery and more. Launching the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in 1991, the World Health Organization delivered a strong message that such practices had no scientific basis. Still, in many places, they dominate hospital-based childbirth today.

Join Marie Biancuzzo to learn why “zero separation” is critical during the first hour. Find out how to address hospital-based and even legal barriers, and delve into the science that shows how zero-separation results in many physical and emotional short- and long-term benefits, far beyond just breastfeeding! Best of all, you’ll thrill at the almost magical nine-step progression that can happen when your baby stays with you skin-to-skin as nature intended.