Today I chat with my second-cousin Megan who is a younger yet ever so wise Millennial toddler mom and Renaissance woman. Our moms are first cousins. Megan has worked as a doula and now runs a doula placement agency in Southern California. She’s also a mom to a three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, an IBCLC, and a Nurse Practitioner.
Have you heard of the company Carrot? Women who are not even adequately trained to be postpartum doulas are able to bypass the necessary time and in-person training it takes in order to become one in order to get their piece of the pie. Why is this problematic? When families hire a postpartum doula, the expectation is that the entire family unit will be cared for including the home. There is an expectation that breastfeeding support will be offered and that the postpartum doula is actually knowledgeable about breastfeeding. Instead, women are able to claim the title of postpartum doula while actually stepping into the misleading role of overnight nanny or newborn care specialist.
During this episode, I also ask Megan for her nuanced opinions on bottle and pacifier usage (it’s not so black-and-white!). We discuss what is really attributing to textbook low supply.
We delve into a breastfeeding technique I had never heard of before called “reverse cycling” and why we think it’s so seldom discussed. It’s typically used as a strategy for moms who must return to work and don’t want to affect their supply or offer formula, so they hold off on nursing all day and then nurse truly on-demand all throughout the night. It does require bedsharing in order to be successful.
I ask her what is the worst breastfeeding advice she’s ever heard as someone who is trained as an IBCLC, a Nurse Practitioner, a former doula and a toddler mom who is still nursing.
Despite having to return to work outside the home (part-time for 12 hour shifts!), Megan is still successfully nursing her 3.5 year old.
Connect/book a consult with Megan here.
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