Born to be Breastfed

Maybe you thought you had completely recovered from your eating disorder, but now, you’ve had a baby…and you’re wondering if you need help. Or, you’ve never been formally diagnosed with an eating disorder, but since your baby has been born, you’ve had a very different relationship with food. Or maybe this is normal. You’re breastfeeding—maybe it’s just hunger or a craving. Or maybe you’re just too busy to eat. But maybe not.

Join Marie and her guest, Crystal Karges, RD, IBCLC, as they talk about conditions such as anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating, and other disorders that can occur any time—including while breastfeeding. If old food intake patterns are re-surfacing or new patterns are emerging, listen so you can take charge. Learn when to ignore food advice, how eating disorders can co-exist with other conditions (e.g. postpartum depression), how to find free resources, and how to be proactive in taking the first steps to getting professional during your breastfeeding journey.

We all know: Food is good. Eating is good. Breastfeeding is good. But as you take your postnatal journey, how do you navigate the intersection of breastfeeding, cooking, diet, dieting, nutrition and intuitive eating? Is weight-loss, “dieting” good, bad, or irrelevant during breastfeeding—and what about hormones? How does western culture affect not only maternal nutrition, but, also, the breastfeeding relationship? In the US, where eating during labor is frequently forbidden, how is the need and craving for food later affected? How does postpartum nutrition affect the healing process after specific birth practices and interventions? What about foods that are reported to improve milk supply? Are there some “big picture” strategies that can be used to promote evidence-based, simple-to-prepare, delicious meals during the postnatal period? Join Marie and her guest, Jaren Soloff, RD IBCLC, author of The Postnatal Cookbook, to learn the answers to these and other perplexing questions!

So, you’ve been thinking about getting your IBCLC certification, and you’re completely confused about how or if you can qualify through Pathway 2. Wouldn’t it be great to just get past the mystique of what’s involved so that you can decide if you’d be better off if Pathway 2 is the right option for you? Listen to the voice of experience! Join Marie and her guest, Natisha Simms, IBCLC, as they discuss Natisha’s journey through the Pathway 2 program at Johnson C. Smith University, a historically Black university. You’ll get a glimpse of the learning experience when the student is not a healthcare professional. And you’ll hear Natisha share her motivation, her decision-making process, and a description of her journey through the groundbreaking program. She’ll also talk about her passion for and commitment to improving health disparities among Black populations by promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding in her community.

Unquestionably, there are health disparities among Black families. And, breastfeeding, although a proven way to improve a baby’s short-term and long-term nutritional and immune health, has historically not been supported in Black communities. The question is, how can we help to reduce the barriers to breastfeeding and the health disparities among Black families? Join Marie and her guest, Jennifer Miller, co-founder of Chocolate Milk Mommies. Hear how some simple grass-roots strategies have been used in Alabama, a state that has had the lowest breastfeeding rates in the country for decades. Jennifer describes her struggles to initiate and continue breastfeeding without support, her passion to help other women, and how she and a very small band of like-minded mothers have used their skills, passion and ambition to reverse an inter-generational trend of formula-feeding among Black families. Learn how all of us can help in great or small ways.

We all recognize that breastfeeding a baby doesn’t cost money. What we may be less aware of is that socioeconomically-deprived mothers are often likely to initiate breastfeeding and, if they do, they are less likely to continue. What is being done to help families in this situation? Join Marie and her guest, Tori Gwilliam, RD, as they bust the myths and clarify the facts related to the federally-funded, state-administered Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Who is eligible for WIC? Why might families who are eligible for WIC not participate in the WIC program? How are the food packages different for breastfeeding mothers versus non-breastfeeding women and children—and does that matter to the recipients? Which types of breast pumps does WIC offer? Has WIC had a positive impact on breastfeeding over the last few decades? Here’s your chance to get an inside look into these and other questions about the WIC program.

You name it, we’ve had it. The COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustices, a disputed election, schools moving to an online format, healthcare professionals losing their jobs, and more. Sometimes, it feels like we’re sinking into quicksand. Wow! Is now the time to earn a certification you’ve never had before? Or is it worth the bother to renew your current certification? Or can you use your certification in a new way? Maybe, more to the point, what happens if you don’t hold a certification, or if you have certification but you’re not using it to your own advantage during these uncertain times? Or, what about if you’ve already failed the IBLCE exam and you’re wondering if now is the time to re-test? Regardless of what license or other certification you might hold, here’s some practical advice on how having certification can help you. Get out of the quicksand and join Marie as she gives some rock-solid advice that will help you get, renew, or use your IBCLC certification to your advantage.

Maybe you had an exhilarating experience when birthing your baby and you feel like you can now take on the world. Or maybe having a baby made you feel like you’ll never get your life back now that you have that tiny baby who is 100% dependent on you. Sure, parenting is touted to be the biggest and most rewarding job you’ll ever have. But do you think you can do it and still design the life you want? Join Marie as she talks with Felicia Broccolo from The Life Coach School. How is a life coach different from a BFF, or a counselor, or a therapist? Why do women seek help from a life coach? What kinds of services can a life coach offer—and how do you find and use those services? What’s the relationship between a thought, an emotion, and a result? How can we gain more confidence in ourselves, or help others to develop more confidence? Be sure to join Marie and Felicia as they talk about how to truly achieve that new you.

You’re looking at the amount of milk you’ve pumped. It should have been more. It could have been more. Probably every mom on the planet got more than that, but you’ve tried everything, and you just can’t get one more ounce. You want to give up because you know you just can’t pump even one minute or one drop more. You’ve tried oatmeal and fennel and fenugreek and everything that everyone has suggested and no, zip, zero, nada niente, it isn’t working so it’s obvious that you’re a failure at breastfeeding and a terrible mother. Right? Wrong. Very wrong. Listen to Marie’s interview with Sarah Farrell Johnson who claimed she just “couldn’t ducking pump anymore” but finally realized her self-worth is not measured in the number of ounces she pumps. Sarah shares her story about her first baby, and then her second baby. Then, she talks about the tools that helped her to have a better breastfeeding and better mothering experience and she explains why for why those tools can work for you, too.

Whether you are a parent or a professional, you have already been frightened by some “scary” number associated with a newborns health. The baby has lost 10 percent of his weight. His glucose level is under 40. His bilirubin level is 18. Oh, these numbers are frightening, and the hospital insists on supplementing with artificial milk to make those numbers look better. But where is the context for these numbers? Where is the science? Are these numbers true indicators that some harm is about to happen?

Join Marie and her guest, pediatrician Jenny Thomas, MD IBCLC, FABM, as they discuss numbers related to newborn weight loss, glucose levels, and bilirubin levels. Learn how the traditionally “scary” numbers are not always an indicator of some imminent danger, and, consider the latest science that suggests that supposedly out-of-bounds numbers may be protective rather than harmful, or they may be simply inaccurate or misleading.

Admit it. There’s a tiny part of the holiday season that you dread. You’ve got a few relatives who always poke their noses into your parenting business, and you never know exactly how to handle their comments. Should you just put up and shut up? Or should you lash back? Or is there perhaps a better solution that might help to avoid all of that negative energy floating around in the room?

Listen as Marie and best-selling author and top psychotherapist Sandra Reich talk about why topics like breastfeeding are so likely to bring on criticism, and how the “crab mentality” works overtime—and is often contagious among family members—at holiday time. Ask yourself what story is playing in your head. Heed Sandra’s warning that negative emotional energy has been scientifically linked to physical disease, and get her tips on how to create appropriate boundaries and avoid unwanted consequences.