Mama Nurture

30/08/2023

I'm feeling really privileged today as I realised I've helped my 200th mommy client on her breastfeeding journey. It's not flashy, it's not always pretty, but it's ALWAYS beautiful and it's always a blessing to play a small part. Thank you my Mom Heroes!

05/08/2023

I would love to hear about your experiences of breastfeeding and working...did you get at least 4 months of maternity leave, preferably 6 months? Were you able to take expressing breaks when you went back to work? Were you able to continue breastfeeding?

Let’s make breastfeeding and work, work!

Moms need at least 18 weeks paid maternity leave – preferably six months or more – with their job security protected by law.

02/08/2023

This is so vital in order for working moms to be able to still breastfeed when they return to work. Workplaces need to make breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months (as recommended by WHO) feasible and achievable.

02/08/2023

🎉 To all our incredible LACSA members, Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

Your passion and expertise as IBCLCs and SACLCs make a profound difference in the lives of families every day.

This week, we also celebrate YOU for your unwavering dedication in empowering families on their breastfeeding journey. Your guidance, care, and support are truly invaluable.

Thank you for being the driving force behind our mission!

02/08/2023

The wonderful chairperson of LACSA (Lactation Consultants of Southern- & Africa), Judy Kirkwood. It has been such a pleasure to "meet" you, Judy!

01/08/2023

It's World Breastfeeding Week from the 1st to the 7th August! The theme this year is Enabling Breastfeeding: Making a Difference for working parents. Look out for more info and posts this week.

06/03/2023

You've got one of the hardest jobs out there and you're doing amazingly, all you wonderful moms!

133K Likes, 297 Comments - Haley: Montessori + Conscious Parent Educator () on Instagram: "Be sure to tag your parenting bestie to remind them that they’re doing amazing 🥺🤍 Anothe..."

17/10/2022

📸: Baby Lemon Prints

25/08/2022

Breast milk antibodies can offer many benefits to babies. These include reducing your baby’s risk of:
• Middle ear infections.
• Respiratory tract infections.
• Colds and flu.
• Gut infections.
• Intestinal tissue damage.
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
• Diabetes.
• Childhood leukemia.
• Obesity.

16/08/2022

We are hardwired for relationship. From 5 decades of research in this field, we know that babies will automatically seek out connection and security from their caregivers. That's radical- babies know how to do relationship and how to connect from birth... but sometimes us adults aren't sure how to do it well. So if you're unsure, take your cue from your baby- they will teach us how if we stop to listen.

04/08/2022

Everyone deserves support and space to grieve the end of a breastfeeding relationship.

Why isn’t there a week for people who couldn’t breastfeed?

There is. It’s World Breastfeeding Week.

World Breastfeeding Week is not just for mothers who met their breastfeeding goals. It is also for every mother who ever wanted to breastfeed for a day, a week, a month, a year and wasn’t able to do so.

I know this week is incredibly painful if you weren’t able to meet your breastfeeding goals. I know it feels like the universe is conspiring against you to re-open old wounds and pour salt into them. I’m not going to minimize that. I’m not going to tell you to get over it. I’m not going to tell you that your feelings don’t matter.

You matter. Your feelings matter.

Not only are your feelings valid, they are important. I would argue that those feelings of pain, and loss and grief are one of the most important parts of World Breastfeeding Week.

It is nothing short of cruel that we, as a society, inform mothers of all the benefits of breastfeeding, and then fail to provide adequate help and support for mothers to meet their breastfeeding goals. 80% of mothers who stop breastfeeding in the early days say they would've liked to continue, and felt they could've continued with better support (according to Public Health England). It is nothing short of a travesty that hundreds of thousands of mothers are being let down. Given the very real grief many mothers feel at having to stop breastfeeding, and the fact that the leading cause of death in women in the first 12 months after giving birth is su***de I believe it is fair to say that it is a travesty that is harming, and possibly even killing women.

One of the most damaging results of a lack of breastfeeding support is that mothers are left with no emotional support when breastfeeding doesn't go to plan. There is no one there to give them a hug, a cup of tea, a piece of cake, to reassure them that they have nothing to feel guilty about. To tell them that if they can look themselves in the eye and know they are doing the best they can with their circumstances, then that is all anyone can ever do and it it makes them a truly wonderful mother. No-one is there to tell them to be kind to themselves, to give themselves time to grieve. To tell them that if they want to curl up on the sofa with chocolate and Netflix for a few days they should do that. They are expected to just move on, get over it, it's not like it mattered anyway. So that pain, and that loss, and that grief never truly gets a chance to heal.

And that's exactly why this week is important. Because every mother who ever wanted to breastfeed her baby, for an hour, a week, a month, a year or longer deserves adequate help and support to meet that goal. And for the mothers who don't meet that goal for whatever reason, they have the right to adequate emotional support to heal from that. And I know it hurts this week when you didn't get the support that you deserved, but the aim of this week, the reason we bang our drums, and and get on our soap boxes is so every mother gets the practical end emotional support she deserves. So no other mother ever has to go through this pain.
_____________________________________________________

Words & Photo by: Breastfeeding Berkshire

03/08/2022

Lovely article!
https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/family/baby/breastfeeding-awareness-week-do-you-play-your-part-in-supporting-breastfeeding-moms-6a610f59-3762-4541-87e2-42ed9d48c535?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook =1659493988

If you find yourself feeling uncomfortable or even negative when it comes to the topic of breastfeeding, it may be time to think again.

01/08/2022

This week is World Breastfeeding Week! The theme is Step up for Breastfeeding - Educate and Support🤱. Type below or tag who was your biggest supporter on your breastfeeding journey...we all need someone to walk with us!

01/08/2022

Happy World Breastfeeding Week 2022!

13/07/2022

I believe this too...your baby does not have to do what the books say! Your baby is unique and you as a mother have intuition as to what your baby needs and when.

"The books say to put you down, drowsy but awake; and so I rock you to sleep in my arms instead.

The books say to avoid eye contact, no talking, don’t stimulate the baby; and so I hold you close, look deep in your eyes, stroke your cheek, whisper to infinity how deeply I love you instead.

The books tell me what time you should go to bed, how long you should sleep, how long you should be awake; and so I watch you, learn the subtle rub of your eyes, the shift in your breath, your mood when you wake, let you guide me instead.

The books tell me you shouldn’t need me, you should be independent, you should learn to self settle; so when you cry I bring you in with me, let you relax in to my presence, my warmth, do the settling for you instead.

The books tell me so many things about you, and yet I do not to listen; for these books have never met you, my sweet girl.

They don’t know you like I do."

📷

05/07/2022

Is anyone able to help?

We have an urgent need for breast milk for the baby that we rescued from the homeless shelter a couple of weeks ago. If you have any extra milk and are willing to pump and donate to baby L please let us know asap.
🖤
TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER and babies are fed.
🖤

17/02/2022

Thanks to Nutripaeds for this interesting poll! It makes me so sad that many mothers didn't feel supported in the breastfeeding experience and 60% found breastfeeding difficult and overwhelming to initiate. Please reach out to a certified lactation consultant for help!

Our breastfeeding poll results are in...thank you to everyone who responded 💕

1. Was your baby given infant formula in hospital without your consent (whilst trying to establish breastfeeding)?
Yes - 11%
No - 89%

This should be at ZERO for yes!
Be clear and firm with your feeding requests for your baby before the delivery if possible (don’t be shy mama’s) and speak to your gynae as well so that he/she is informed and can speak with the hospital staff as well.

2. Did you feel that you received adequate support while trying to establish breastfeeding?
Yes - 48%
No - 52%

Support and guidance by trained professionals (as well as your partner and family) is crucial during those first few days and weeks. Connect with a lactation consultant before delivery and have her on speed dial after birth. Don’t feel or be alone on your journey.

3. Did you struggle to initiate breastfeeding or find it overwhelming and difficult?
Yes - 60% (Wow)
No - 40%

Breastfeeding can be tough, it doesn’t always come naturally to mom or baby. Its a new relationship and it can take time. Throw in being post delivery, tired, being responsible for a little human and a bunch of hormones = can lead to many emotions, often overwhelm, sadness or anxiety. Many moms stop breastfeeding due to lack of support so always:
• Speak to your partner and family about how you are REALLY feeling. It’s ok to feel sad and overwhelmed.
• Speak to a lactation consultant if you are struggling and don’t wait - the sooner the better.
• Be confident and firm in your feeding choices, whichever they are but also give yourself grace that it may need some adjusting or be harder than you anticipated.
• Don’t feel alone - reach out for support.

Share your thoughts with us below or send us a DM 💕

15/01/2022

Hang in there mammas, you are not alone!

Some truths about postpartum:

You’ll miss the girl of yesterday, but love who she is becoming even more.

Asking for help doesn’t make you weak, we weren’t designed to do this alone.

Unwanted intrusive thoughts are really common, and yet we never talk about them.

You can be in so much company and still feel lonely.

You’ll never feel so strong and so vulnerable all at once.

You’ll never be so attune to someone else’s feelings, their breathing, their cries, its incredibly beautiful and incredibly exhausting.

You’ll get asked if they’re a good baby, you’ll wish you responded with, “they’re all good babies”.

You’ll be triggered often, you may even have to reparent yourself in some ways.

You’ll scroll a lot, your feed will be over taken with Mum accounts and baby things, some of which will give you Mum guilt. You don’t need that, it’s hard enough.

You’ll cringe at some of the things you said, or the things you didn’t do for your friends with kids, way before you had any of your own (I get it now, and I’m sorry).

Your baby is not manipulating you, it’s biologically normal for them to want you close, and that’s no bad habit.

If you simply kept the kids alive today, then you achieved a lot.

That crying in the shower is something we’ve all done, sometimes we don’t even know why.

Your brain will go missing for a while.

It is not a one size fits all, the routines, the apps… no one knows your baby better than you.

You’ll feel distant from your partner, the one thing that makes you feel as if you’re floating one minute has you both sinking the next. Sometimes it’s an ocean between you (but it won’t always be like that).

You’ll crave alone time and yet when you’re without them it feels like a piece of you is missing.

They grow so fast (but you won’t enjoy every minute) and that’s OK.

You’ll get better at this, but mostly you’ll get better at just rolling with it.

You’ll never know patience until you become a mother.

You’ll never know a person inside out until you become a mother.

You’ll never know how love can turn you inside out too.

And you’ll be forever changed, but in the best way.

Words: Jess Urlichs, Writer
Art: O Trocatintas