Most mothers feel really good when their milk lets down (Milk Ejection Reflex (MER)). The surge of oxytocin (also sometimes called the “mothering hormone”) makes lots of women feel relaxed and calm. But it’s not this way for everyone. Some women feel a surge of negative emotions when their milk lets down. The website D-MER.org…
Category: Breastfeeding
Working (out) with Baby
It’s hard to get back in shape after baby is born but here’s a fun video that combines a breastfeeding baby with working and working out. Workout advisor, Bob Harper, shows up at a mama’s office where she works on the computer (while taking care of her breastfed 4-month old) to help her figure out…
Smart Breastfed Babies
A new study shows breastfeeding leading to smarter kids. Other studies have found that breastfeeding goes along with being smart. This new study is exciting because it was designed to try to figure out whether breastfeeding causes higher IQ or if they just happen together for other reasons. Exclusive breastfeeding enhances children’s cognitive development By…
Unexpected side effects…
I hadn’t realized what breastfeeding could do for me as a mother: a study found that “women who breastfeed for more than eight weeks are more relaxed, have a higher tolerance to monotony, and score higher on a socialization index” (from Hale and Hartman, Textbook of Human Lactation, p. 150).
Environmentalists for Breastfeeding
We usually hear that breastfeeding is good because it is good for individual mothers and babies: bonding, good nutrition, good health. But breastfeeding is good for our environment too: no packaging, no transportation, no waste. The Australian Breastfeeding Association has some great posters that celebrate the way breastfeeding protects our environment. I wish I had…
So what’s normal?
There are so many aspects of breastfeeding that we just don’t see in our society until we’re nursing our own children. And even then, we really only see ourselves and our own babies. It’s generally not socially acceptable to look at other women’s breasts or to carefully watch other women’s babies latching on. So if…
Winter Blues
Snow has been the big news story in Madison this winter. My son told me that in January it snowed on 23 out of the 31 days of the month. Since I remember it raining on at least one or two days, that means that it was cloudy and precipitating pretty much the entire month….
One Mother’s Experience
As a lactation consultant I’m here to help you have a good breastfeeding experience as you define it — not as I define it. So I’m interested in your story not my story. I’m here to give you the combined experience of many women and scientific research not the particulars of my own breastfeeding experience….
“That’s Nice.”
This sweet video of Big Bird (from Sesame Street) learning about breastfeeding is one of my all time favorites. I hope you enjoy it too:
Can I take this when I’m breastfeeding?
I have a family friend that got postpartum depression and weaned her baby because she was worried that antidepressants in her milk would hurt her little one. Another friend was afraid to take Tylenol for a headache because she was breastfeeding. When I was nursing my oldest son, my eye doctor decided not to dilate…
Madison Breastfeeding Help 