Nurture Breastfeeding Support

17/06/2025

⭐Leave some money for chocolate! ⭐

Wearable breastpumps have become a ‘must have’ item with many parents buying these pumps before baby is born.

But, does ownership of one of these pumps guarantee a successful breastfeeding journey? Will it be all you need to make breastfeeding work for you if you run into difficulty?

The answer is an emphatic ‘no’.

Some babies will latch and feed well from the get go so this pump may never get out of the box.

But, if you do have problems in the early days what you are going to need above all else is skilled support, and if latching, milk transfer or supply are issues a decent traditional double electric, preferable, ‘multi user’ pump as these are most effective in the crucial early days when milk supply is being calibrated. You may also need feeding tools you may not have budgeted for

But you have already spent a lot on your double wearable pump and have little money left for these unexpected expenses. So, hold off on buying a pump before birth.

For the £400 a certain well known double wearable pump costs you could get:

⭐A double electric pump on hire for £40-60 for a month with a set of appropriately sized flanges for £16-19
⭐An appointment with an IBCLC for skilled assessment, support, a feeding plan and follow up for £120.
⭐6 hours of post natal doula support for £120-150
⭐A lactation aid or 4 bottles for £25

Or
⭐A purchased good double electric pump for £150 with a set of appropriately sized flanges for £16-19
⭐An appointment with an IBCLC for skilled assessment, support, a feeding plan and follow up for £120.
⭐A lactation aid or 4 bottles for £25
⭐3 hours of postnatal doula support £60-75.

And still have a bit of change for chocolate!

03/06/2025

Great information from Sarah Oakley Lactation

There are currently a lot of babies turning up in my clinic who are being treated for Thrush because they have white coated tongue. But they don’t have Thrush.

Babies can and do get oral Thrush but in these cases the white coating on the tongue often appears as defined plaques, rather than as a continuous coating, and this plaques will be in other areas of the mouth including inside the cheeks and lips.

A far more common cause of a white coating on the tongue is a high arched palate (roof of the mouth) and/or tongue-tie.

Because a tongue-tie prevents the tongue lifting and resting in the roof of the mouth during sleep and rest the palate doesn’t spread as it should during development, so the high arched palate and tongue-tie often go hand in hand.

If you have a baby with a high arched palate and/or a tongue that doesn’t lift well then that baby won’t be able to remove the dead cells and milk residue off the tongue by cleaning the tongue against the roof of the mouth. Hence the white coating.

GPs often prescribe for oral Thrush over the phone so please make sure you are checking your baby carefully as there is already some resistance to Nystatin, the drug we have available for treating oral Thrush in babies, which means it’s efficacy is declining and no baby should be exposed to unnecessary medications.

Plus when a baby gets diagnosed with oral Thrush the assumption is that this is why the ni***es are sore and most often this is not the case and the ni**le soreness relates to another issue such a sub optimal positioning and attachment, jaw and neck issues or a tongue-tie that is not being addressed.

01/05/2025

A baby who has difficulties feeding is not a baby who is ‘compensating’ for their tongue-tie.

Some babies with tongue-ties do do well with feeding and don’t require intervention. But if you are struggling to resolve issues such sore ni***es, slow weight gain, or reflux and have been told your baby doesn’t need division because they are ‘compensating’ for their tongue-tie seek a second opinion.

08/09/2024

Interesting perspectives on baby’s sleep

Many parents suffer silently from lack of sleep, sometimes with devastating outcomes. Why is there so much conflicting information on baby sleep, and how can we support families to thrive?

15/02/2023

Get along to this to find tips and tricks for expressing and storing, share your best tips or just get out for a while.

Australian Breastfeeding Association Hills Group
The Hills Group - Connect & Share
This Fri, Feb 17 2023
10:00am - 12:00pm
76 Glenhaven Road Glenhaven NSW 2156
Topic - Expressing & Storing of Breastmilk and Returning to Work and Study

Please join us as we discuss all things to do with Expressing and Storing Breastmilk for a range of reasons and circumstances - one of which is returning to work and study.

Whether you are just interested in learning more, have plans to return to work, need to express your breastmilk or have already done some of these we'd love you to come along and share your questions, experiences and tips for making it easier.

And as always, a breastfeeding counsellor is available to answer any questions about breastfeeding.

22/01/2023

22/01/2023

Sending this little video as an apology if anyone has been treating to contact me while I out of range in Antartica. Also I though you might like to see what Adeline penguin parents go through when their chicks get old enough to chase them around for food.

21/10/2022

This is why Bub cries when you put them down

Babies are born with a pretty primal brain - designed simply to keep them safe. The rest develops as they grow. This means that they will protest if they think they might be in danger, and their brain is designed in such a way that they feel safest on an adult chest. Its really logical - leave your baby somewhere cold and open and his brain thinks a wolf might eat him. The brain isn't evolved to understand that we have warm homes and safe cots. Babies feel safe when held. They aren't controlling you, wrapping you around their finger, or getting into bad habits. They are seeking safety in your arms.

17/10/2022

Weighing babies without considering all the factors can result in interventions that can make it hard to go back to fully breastfeeding.

13/10/2022

It can help so much to get out of the house see if you cans make it to any of these

Check out our new Bulletin for November, December & January 🤱

08/10/2022

Babies are very clever adapters look at this little want take it’s milk from a cup.
Babies can feed from a cup quite quickly once they get the hang of it and it can avoid the ni**le confusion from a bottle

08/10/2022

Thanks Sarah Oakley Lactation for this great info

Ni**le shields. Friend or foe?

Ni**le shields get a bad press. This is largely due to concerns about them being used indiscriminately without addressing the root cause of a latching issue, or as a matter of routine and potentially disrupting a breastfeeding relationship that is otherwise going well.

However, they can be a helpful tool for managing ni**le pain and trauma whilst the underlying cause of the pain and damage is being rectified. They are also valuable in situations where babies persist in having difficulty latching to the breast or sustaining the latch at the breast. They can be useful in transitioning babies to the breast who have previously been bottle-fed.

The old-style ni**le shields were made of thick latex or rubber did interfere with breast drainage, making it harder for baby to drain milk from the breast. This is not the case with the modern thin silicone shields when used to manage ni**le pain. See this paper: Viviane S. Coentro, Sharon L. Perrella, Ching Tat Lai, Alethea Rea, Kevin Murray, and Donna T. Geddes.Impact of Ni**le Shield Use on Milk Transfer and Maternal Ni**le Pain.Breastfeeding Medicine.Mar 2021.222-229.http://doi.org/10.1089/bfm.2020.0110

But if shields are to be used it is vital that feeding is assessed carefully to ensure the baby is able to draw adequate amounts of milk. In situations where the ability of the baby to create a vacuum to draw milk from the breast is compromised, which can often be the case in babies with a tongue-tie, the use of shields can lead to a drop in milk intake and weight gain.

If you are thinking a ni**le shield may help you in your breastfeeding journey consult an IBCLC or other skilled breastfeeding professional to ensure they are the right choice for you and your baby.

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