The Doctors' Breastfeeding Clinic

10/17/2025

Dr. Lawrence wrote the first book medical about breastfeeding medicine and was a true pioneer!

We mourn the passing of Dr. Ruth Lawrence, a true pioneer in breastfeeding medicine whose vision, wisdom, and compassion have shaped the care of families worldwide. Her groundbreaking work and mentorship continue to inspire clinicians, researchers, and advocates everywhere. Please join us in celebrating her extraordinary legacy by sharing your reflections and tributes on our digital memorial wall: https://recocards.com/board/c-dr--ruth-128992968150.

For those who wish to honor Dr. Lawrence’s memory further, contributions may be made to funds that were close to her heart and will help sustain her lasting impact:
- The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine’s Growth Fund or the Founders’ Endowment: https://www.bfmed.org/support-abm
- The Dr. Ruth A. Lawrence Educational Fund at the University of Rochester: https://www.rochester.edu/advancement/dr-ruth-a-lawrence-educational-fund/

10/04/2025

10/01/2025

📣 You Don’t Need Two Breasts to Breastfeed! 🤱

It’s a common misconception that you need both breasts to successfully breastfeed. In fact, many mothers can produce all the milk their babies need from just one breast!

This is especially remarkable when you consider mothers of twins, who often manage to breastfeed both babies at the same time using only one breast for each. ✨

The human body is incredibly adaptable. Each breast has the capability to produce milk, and with the right stimulation and demand, one breast can typically supply enough milk for your little one. 💡

Here are a few key points to consider: 🧐

✅ Lactation Flexibility: If one breast is more efficient at producing milk, you can focus on using that breast more frequently, ensuring your baby gets enough nourishment.

✅ Breastfeeding Twins: Many mothers of twins successfully breastfeed each baby from one breast at a time, allowing them to provide nourishment for both without the need for double the supply. This approach not only simplifies the process but also helps manage their milk production effectively.

✅ Avoiding Discomfort: Some mothers find it more comfortable to breastfeed from one breast, especially if they experience issues like engorgement or pain in one side. It’s perfectly acceptable to prioritize comfort while ensuring your baby receives the milk they need.

✅ Individual Experiences: Every breastfeeding journey is unique. While some mothers may need to alternate breasts or use both, many can thrive on using just one. Trust your body and listen to your baby’s cues.

Remember, the key to breastfeeding is finding what works best for you and your baby. Whether you have one breast or two, your ability to nourish your child is more than achievable! ❤️

09/29/2025

09/27/2025

A groundbreaking moment unfolded on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit runway when a model confidently walked while breastfeeding her 5-month-old daughter. The powerful act blended fashion with motherhood, challenging stereotypes and celebrating the realities of parenting in the spotlight. Instead of treating breastfeeding as something to be hidden, the model embraced it as a natural, empowering statement—drawing thunderous applause from the audience. Many hailed the moment as revolutionary for women, mothers, and the fashion industry, pushing boundaries on what is considered glamorous and redefining beauty standards. Social media quickly exploded with admiration, with countless parents calling it inspiring and validating for those balancing careers and motherhood. Critics, however, questioned whether the runway was the right place for such a statement, sparking debate over public breastfeeding and cultural acceptance. Regardless of opinion, the event has cemented itself as a landmark in fashion history, proving that motherhood and high fashion can coexist unapologetically on the biggest stages.

09/22/2025

09/21/2025

The natural term for humans to breastfeed is anywhere between 2 and 7+ years. Some babies stop earlier, some carry on for longer.

Many cultures around the world breastfeed to natural term, including many women in the Western world. This age range is only surprising in cultures that interrupt breastfeeding, often without realising it or knowing which norms are biological and which are cultural.

The concentration of fats and proteins increase as a baby grows into a toddler, along with increased levels of antibacterial and antiviral components such as lysozyme, which is an anti-inflammatory, and destroys bacteria.

Lysozyme increases in concentration from about 6 months old, when babies become more mobile and everything (toys, sand, cats biscuits?) goes straight in the mouth, and keeps increasing after the first year.

The concentration of Lactoferrin also increases over time. Lactoferrin inhibits the growth of some cancerous cells. It also binds to the iron in our baby’s body, preventing it from being available to harmful microorganisms that need iron to survive. Lactoferrin also kills the bacteria strep mutans, a cause of tooth decay and cavities.

Our body’s immune system takes around 6 years to become fully mature, so the support of the protective factors in breastmilk until our immune system can fully function on its own seems play a part in the timescale of natural term weaning too.

Longer term breastfeeding is also associated with reduced risk of diseases for mothers, including breast cancer.

We acknowledge that many mothers find it difficult to establish breastfeeding in the first place, that is a multi-layered investment on the part of a mother and that natural term feeding might not feel like, or be, a possibility for many.

We're not here to tell anyone what to do.

We also acknowledge that lack of information about our biology contributes to lack of support for mothers when they want to establish, or continue, breastfeeding, but cannot find the help they need from people who understand why it matters, or what is normal.

More at https://human-milk.com/pages/science-of-breastmilk

09/18/2025

Every time breastfeeding is celebrated, it feels almost guaranteed that someone will come in and say “Fed is best.”

I want to be clear about why I don’t believe in that phrase… and why I don’t use it.

1. Where it came from matters

“Fed is best” wasn’t just a random phrase that moms started saying to encourage one another. It was created and promoted by the Fed Is Best Foundation, an organization that, despite its warm-sounding name, has made a career out of undermining breastfeeding. On the surface, they say they’re about “supporting all feeding choices,” but in reality, their messaging consistently downplays the science behind breast milk, exaggerates the risks of exclusive breastfeeding, and positions formula as equal in every way. When you know the history, you realize it was never about uplifting moms… it was about pushing back against breastfeeding advocacy.

2. It reduces everything to survival

Of course babies need to be fed. No one disputes that. But to say “fed is best” is to celebrate the bare minimum: survival. A baby being fed is what keeps them alive. But best? Best goes beyond survival. Best is about thriving, about receiving the optimal nutrition that human milk was biologically designed to provide.

When we say “fed is best,” we erase the reality that not all forms of feeding are equal in terms of health outcomes. Breast milk isn’t just food, it’s living tissue, full of immune cells, hormones, enzymes, antibodies, and stem cells that formula simply can’t replicate. To flatten that difference under a catchy slogan does a disservice to families who deserve the truth.

3. It shuts down breastfeeding advocacy

This is one of the biggest reasons I don’t like the phrase. You cannot even celebrate breastfeeding online without someone commenting “fed is best” as if acknowledging the benefits of breast milk is automatically an insult to moms who used formula. But that’s not true. Talking about breast milk’s uniqueness isn’t judgment, it’s science. But the “fed is best” mentality makes it feel almost taboo to talk about breastfeeding honestly. And when we silence those conversations, moms lose access to information that could have helped them succeed or at least make a fully informed decision.

4. It makes mothers defensive instead of supported

The slogan is often used as a shield. Instead of addressing the very real barriers that keep moms from breastfeeding… lack of maternity leave, no workplace pumping support, cultural pressure, aggressive formula marketing, we throw out “fed is best” to make the conversation go away. It doesn’t actually support moms. It dismisses them.

I believe mothers deserve real solutions, not slogans. They deserve policies that protect their feeding goals, workplaces that provide time and space to pump, and communities that cheer them on instead of shaming or silencing them.

5. Support doesn’t require erasing truth

This is the heart of it for me. I support all mothers. I know not everyone can exclusively breastfeed. I know supplementation happens. I know some moms formula-feed from day one. That doesn’t make them less. That doesn’t make them failures.

But supporting moms doesn’t mean erasing facts. Breast milk is unmatched. Human milk has lifelong health impacts that no formula can provide. That’s not opinion, that’s evidence. To act like “all feeding is the same” is not empowerment… it’s dishonesty.

⸻

So no, I don’t use “fed is best.”
Because fed is not best, it’s the minimum.

And breastfeeding? That’s not some “extra credit” or gold standard goal. It’s the baseline. It’s the biological norm. It’s what human infants were created to receive, what our bodies were made to provide.

09/16/2025

A Mission. A Movement. A Brand for Breastfeeding Mothers. Clothing, knowledge and community that new breastfeeding mothers need in order to thrive.

08/30/2025

If you're being forced to supplement with formula or to stop breastfeeding because your baby is jaundiced, then it's time to reach out to a lactation consultant (IBCLC) to work with you and your baby.

Too often are mothers unnecessarily forced to wean or to use formula instead of frequent breastfeeding or human milk. Reach out to the right person for the right support.