A resource to inspire, inform and empower parents.

Ask A Lactation Consultant: Vitamin D For A Breastfeeding Baby

“Does my breastfed baby need vitamin D? My pediatrician says I should give my 4-month-old a vitamin D supplement. What should I do?”

The short answer is yes.  However, there is a lot more to it.  Parents sometimes assume that they will need to supplement their baby with additional Vitamin D because human milk is deficient in Vitamin D.  This is usually what they are told.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The truth is human milk does have Vitamin D, but it is rarely enough for both the parent and the baby.  There are many variables to consider about this as well.  The most efficient way we get Vitamin D is from the sun.  Was your baby born during winter months(not that we recommend having your newborn out in the sun anyway)?  Do you live in a colder climate?  Do you or your baby have darker skin color?  All of these things can affect how much Vitamin D you and your baby are exposed to.  If you are breast/chest feeding and you are deficient in Vitamin D, the chances are good your baby is as well. 

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Breastfeeding and Zoloft

Dr. Samantha Radford is a chemist with expertise in Public Health. She focuses on how mothers and babies are exposed to chemicals, and what the effects of those chemicals are. In addition, Samantha owns Evidence-based Mommy, where she helps mothers and their kids to thrive using science and wellness. Samantha has four children of her own.

Is Zoloft safe for breastfeeding?

Whether you’ve dealt with mental health challenges in the past, or it’s a new experience for you due to postpartum hormone changes, anxiety and depression can be debilitating for a new mom. And while there’s several ways to help with PPA or PPD, one of the most common remedies is to prescribe Zoloft (sertraline). 

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Our Bodies Are Not Broken

When I was pregnant with my second son, Exley, people would often ask if this birth would be the one that righted all the wrongs from the first. I never felt that was the case since the birth of my first son gave me my beautiful son and also got me to where I am today. Learning to breastfeed was so hard so I figured I had my big empowering moment when it started to work for us. My first birthing experience was traumatic, but it taught me so much that I can’t call it “wrong.” There were plenty of things that I wanted to do differently the second time, but I don’t think I would have had the second experience without the first. So, essentially, both birth experiences served an important purpose. [Read more…]

An Open Letter to Doctors About Birth and Breastfeeding

Dear Doctors,

I want to personally thank you for dedicating your lives to helping people maintain wellness. You have gone through a lot of schooling and gained a ton of experience to be able to guide people through sickness and to live healthy, fulfilling and long lives. You have literally saved the lives of family members. When I am sick or injured you are the first person I call. We would be in a terrible place without you.

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I Love My Baby More Than You Love Your Baby:

How the On-Line Motherhood Support Community is Committing Mass Suicide

We love nothing more than to say we have this wonderful, global community of women designed to support each other in a way that many people in our daily lives have not. And yet, we shit on this very community every single day. Many times a day. All day. I am just about at my wits end with the woman on woman hating on the internet. Yes, I am talking about you. And I am talking about me. Every single one of us needs to take responsibility.

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The Home Birth of Sweet Wyatt William

By Sally Sites

In October 2005, I met the first love of my life- my wonderful husband Jake.  On August 19th 2010, my second love was born (plans for a natural, relaxed birth center birth were derailed by a pitocin induction at the hospital…I still birthed as naturally as I could while tethered to an IV lying in a bed but it was everything I didn’t want).  My passion for all things pregnancy/birth/breastfeeding developed as I grew into my new role as a mom to my darling little man.   [Read more…]

Gender Disappointment

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Jack’s wiener was a surprise upon his birth. We decided we didn’t want to know early and wanted to be surprised. We did want a boy, but not so much that I ever thought I’d be disappointed with a girl. When I became pregnant with my second child last year I felt a desire to have a girl. [Read more…]

The Badass Breastfeeder Got Knocked Up

Well well, now you all know the little baby secret I have been keeping for 14 weeks. I have so much I want to tell you and share with you , but I will try and relax and make sure I give you all the nitty gritty details. This might take several blog posts. First you should know that I don’t plan to breastfeed this new baby… Just kidding!

Abby Theuring, The Badass Breastfeeder, breastfeeding while pregnant.

Let’s start with some dates so you can get an idea of the time line. Jack was born July 30, 2011. We began trying to conceive (TTC) at 6 months postpartum (January 2012). My period returned 7 months postpartum (February 2012). I became pregnant in September 2013 (yep, it took that long for my body to be ready).  Jack was 26 months at the time we conceived. He is now 29 months old. My estimated due date is June 10, 2014. Jack will be just shy of 3 years old. [Read more…]

Our Birth and Lactation Story

by Bethany

I had planned to have a drug-free water birth at The Birth Cottage, a freestanding birth center in Milford New Hampshire. I had watched documentaries such as “The Business of Being Born,” “Gentle Birth Choices,” and “Orgasmic Birth,” and therefore was very well-informed of what goes on in many hospital settings. I didn’t trust hospitals and knew I wanted my baby to be born in a safe environment where the baby would remain with me and not be separated after birth, and where I wasn’t at risk of having unnecessary surgery. I had taken childbirth classes in the Bradley Method to prepare for a drug-free birth, during which we read about the many possible dangers to the baby of drugs during labor. I had interviewed and chosen a doula to provide labor support. I even chose to go to a birth center in New Hampshire, rather than having a home birth in Massachusetts where I live, because the laws regarding midwifery are different in New Hampshire and I knew that should I need to transfer to a medical facility, a New Hampshire midwife would get a lot more respect at a New Hampshire hospital than a Mass. midwife at a Mass. hospital. Midwives are actually licensed by the state of New Hampshire, and therefore are acknowledged providers there. [Read more…]

Something to Say About Breastfeeding While Pregnant by Guest Blogger Ashleymarie Sey Lively

Read this post at Breastfeeding Basics!

Something to Say About Breastfeeding While Pregnant by Guest Blogger Ashleymarie Sey Lively