As we wind up 2014, we’d like to take a look back at our most popular blog posts of the year. It has been an exciting year at Lactation Matters, as we’ve expanded our reach and put a new focus on content highlighting research and practice from all over the globe. If you are doing something new and innovative in your practice, have a tip or technique to share, or want to tell us about how International Board Certified Lactation Consultants® (IBCLCs®) are impacting breastfeeding families around the world, please send us an email to marketing@ilca.org. We look forward to hearing from you!
Here are our top 10 blog posts of 2014!
#10 – Q&A with Sherry Payne, MSN, RN, CNE, IBCLC: An Innovator in Lactation Equity: In April, we were able to share about the innovative work happening at Uzazi Village, in Kansas City, MO, USA. Sherry’s work not only supports women in her community with birth and breastfeeding but is also is educating practitioners who can expand the work of the center.
#9 – New Strategies for Relieving Engorgement: Tips and Tools from Maya Bolman, BA, BSN, IBCLC: This post, published less than one month ago, is blasting its way to the top of our list of most popular blogs. Including video to demonstrate the technique, Maya Bolman offers time-tested treatment methods for some of our most common lactation related challenges.
#8 – Open Letter: Barriers to the IBCLC Profession: After last summer’s Lactation Summit Addressing Inequities within the Lactation Consultant Profession, the conversation about barriers to entry into our profession has been elevated. We published this Open Letter from Aiden Farrow, highlighting her perspective and in it, she calls out a number of challenges that those who desire to be IBCLCs encounter as they pursue the profession.
#7 – A Closer Look at Cultural Issues Surrounding Breastfeeding: This excellent piece explores some of the beliefs surrounding breastfeeding in world cultures and how they impact our work as IBCLCs. As ILCA expands its global perspective, we strongly encourage all practitioners to be knowledgeable and respectful of the cultural beliefs in their own communities and determine how to integrate them with evidence-based practice.
#6 – Freya’s Gold: Milk Donation After Loss: We are so grateful to the Mothers’ Milk Bank for sharing this incredible story from Monique about donating her breastmilk after the loss of her daughter, Freya. It also contains important resources for working with bereaved families such as Clinical Lactation’s article Lactation After Loss, by Melissa Cole, IBCLC.
#5 – Pumped Up: Supporting Nursing Moms at Work: What a great post highlighting creative and “out of the box” solutions for pumping in the workplace! Written by Cathy Carothers, it shares resources developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health. Videos and photos are included to feature workable options in virtually every type of employment setting.
#4 – Wondering How to Become an IBCLC?: We get questions daily about how to get started on the journey towards becoming an IBCLC, and so we published this piece as a “one stop shop” for those interested in entering the profession. We know that many of your are sharing it with all of those who contact you with similar questions and we THANK YOU!
#3 – Traveling as a Pumping Mother: We have found that posts with real-life tips for breastfeeding families are always well received. We first published this post in May 2013, and it addresses a very common concern for many families who are balancing parenthood and employment. It is a great one to share with your clients and patients.
#2 – Pumping Strategies for the Working Mother: This post, first published in May 2012, has been a strong driver of traffic to our blog. Offering practical and well-researched guidance for working families, it continues to garner comments and is a favorite on social media.
#1 – New Research: Direct Correlation Between Labor Pain Medications and Breastfeeding: We certainly hit on a “Hot Topic” because the popularity of this post zoomed right by Pumping Strategies for the Working Mother, which has held our MOST POPULAR POST spot since 2012! This post has received more than 100,000 views since May (more views than we had on the entire blog in our first two years!) and has opened up a new conversation about the impact of birth practices on breastfeeding.
