Archive | Breastfeeding Videos

New Strategies For Relieving Engorgement: Tips and Tools From Maya Bolman, BA, BSN, IBCLC

By Christine Staricka, BS, IBCLC, CCE, ILCA Medialert Team

Screenshot 2014-12-01 16.47.11

When Maya Bolman was a young girl in Russia, her godmother was known to all the women in her village as the one who could help with breastfeeding. People said her hands were “like magic.”

A young Bolman paid attention. She is now a well-respected clinical lactation care provider in the U.S. who uses her hands to help nursing mothers relieve the breast fullness that can interfere with their breastfeeding. In July, she brought her skills, clinical knowledge, and time-tested wisdom to the International Lactation Consultant Association® (ILCA®) 2014 Conference, and attendees returned home with a skill they could use immediately to help their own clients and patients.

Bolman observes that, since the breast has no fascia or muscle to aid in movement of fluids other than breast milk, congestion of the breasts is common during early lactation. As a new mother’s body sheds fluids from pregnancy and those given intravenously during hospital labor and childbirth, milk production begins in earnest. The breasts can become uncomfortably full or even swell to the point that milk ceases to flow. In addition, the skin covering the breast can become so taut and the areolae so swollen that the baby cannot latch. The simplest solution is a combination of gentle massage and manual milk expression, which softens the breasts and eases infant latch.

Evidence supporting the effectiveness of hand expression continues to mount. In locations lacking electricity for breast pumps, hand expression allows mothers to sufficiently maintain milk for premature and sick infants who are unable to feed directly at the breast. Teaching all new mothers to hand express ensures compliance with Step Five of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, part of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.

“There is no right way to do hand expression, only the way that is gentle and that works,” Bolman explains. She has created a free video which she encourages to be shared with mothers (with appropriate credit to Bolman). Her work with Breast Feeding Medicine of Northeast Ohio confirms that even mothers who have already attempted these techniques on their own can still benefit from in-office treatment. The video provides an excellent introduction for new mothers and clinicians to hone their hand expression technique.

[vimeo 65196007 w=500 h=281]

 

In her clinic, Bolman and her colleague, Dr Ann Witt, MD, FABM, IBCLC, teach mothers to use these techniques when they come in for hands-on treatment of engorgement and plugged ducts. She finds that mothers of the youngest babies typically ask for help with engorgement, while plugged ducts seem to peak around 10 weeks postpartum. During the session, Bolman shared videos of herself and her colleagues providing gentle, sweeping massage of the breasts. In a motion toward the axilla, they use the sides of their hands and a generous amount of olive oil mixed with a few drops of an essential oil. Mothers are encouraged to lie back at an angle similar to the position used for prone breastfeeding. If their babies are present and hungry, they feed on the opposite breast during treatment as desired.

Results of these treatment sessions are overwhelmingly positive. They produce relief of overall pain, resolution of plugged ducts immediately in at least half the cases, decreased levels of nipple pain and tenderness, reduced periareolar edema, and easier latching/feeding. This type of customized “touch care” of breastfeeding mothers is derived from the wisdom of the ages. It is also very appropriate and relevant for today’s mothers who frequently have little experience with physical touch to their breasts other than during intimacy.

Bolman firmly believes that mothers are empowered when they are taught techniques for hand expression and massage to relieve engorgement on their own. She insists that we cannot teach it enough times to the mothers in our care, regardless of the age of their babies.

“They really want to learn these techniques for self-care,” Bolman stated, “because they are not necessarily instinctive.” She firmly believes that lactation care providers should guide mothers’ hands through the process of hand expression by placing a hand over the mother’s hand rather than directly on mother’s breast. She observes that we can often find solutions to common challenges by looking to other cultures. Bolman’s background and personal experience of blending her native and adoptive cultures has provided the lactation field with a priceless treasure in her techniques.

For more information, please see Recapturing the Art of Therapeutic Breast Massage during Breastfeeding by Bolman, Saju, Oganesyan, Kondrashova, & Witt in the Journal of Human Lactation HERE.

maya-in-moscow

Maya Bolman, BA, BSN, IBCLC, was born and raised in Minsk, Belarus. Certified as  IBCLC in 2001. She has worked in both inpatient and outpatient settings and, since 2009, also worked as lactation consultant in a large pediatric practice and breastfeeding medicine practice. Bolman traveled to Russia in 2009, 2010 and 2012 to work with breastfeeding consultants and as the IBLCE Country Coordinator for Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Latvia, helped to prepare 14 IBCLC candidates to pass certification exam and became the first IBCLCs in their countries. 

 

christineChristine Staricka is a hospital-based IBCLC. She became a Certified Lactation Educator through UCSD while facilitating local breastfeeding support groups. She studied independently while accumulating supervised clinical hours and passed the exam in 2009 to become an IBCLC. She holds a BS in Business Management from University of Phoenix. Christine is the co-owner of Bakersfield Breastfeeds, which provides lactation education to professionals and expectant parents. She has contributed to USLCA’s eNews as well as this blog. She enjoys tweeting breastfeeding information as @IBCLCinCA and maintains a blog by the same name. She is a wife and mother of 3 lovely and intelligent daughters and aunt to 4 nephews and 2 nieces, all of who have been or are still breastfeeding. She is partial to alternative rock and grunge music, especially Pearl Jam, and attends as many concerts as financially able with her husband of 18 years.

5

YouTube for Breastfeeding: Video Sharing as a Counseling Tool

By Jessica Lang Kosa, PhD, IBCLC

youtube-logo2“Do you have any suggestions for how to get a deeper latch?” asks the mom on the phone. I’ve been a LLL leader for years, so I have a lot of experience with phone counseling, but certain questions always leave me struggling for words while illustrating my point with animated hand gestures that are invisible to the caller. Even the best description of a physical technique just doesn’t do it justice – a picture is worth a thousand words, and a video, well that’s priceless. Hence, my YouTube channel.

YouTube is a video sharing website that allows anyone to post videos. They can be restricted to only certain viewers, or can be made public. If a video is public, then other users can share it around by marking it as a favorite, emailing a link, or adding it to a playlist (a collection of videos). The copyright agreement that video creators agree to allows only for open sharing within YouTube – not for downloading the video. Links to a video can also be embedded in a Facebook post, blog, or other social media, but the link goes back to YouTube. A user can simply view other people’s videos, or can create a channel – essentially a homepage, where the host can present their own videos and links and comments on other public videos. Accounts and channels are free. Creators of a video can choose to show an ad at the beginning to generate revenue (both for themselves and for YouTube), and this is what keeps it viable.

As a teaching tool, this is incredibly powerful. A mother calls to say she is engorged and can’t get the baby to latch. I can send her to a video demonstrating reverse pressure softening. Any time I teach a client a technique – hand expression, laid-back breastfeeding, supplementing at breast – I can also give her links to videos. Learning theorists say that we all remember information better when we receive it through multiple routes; verbal, kinesthetic, and visual all reinforce each other. I can also diversify, by offering both my own videos – reminding her of what I taught her in person – and other public videos, usually offering a slightly different approach. She can see for herself a real range of practices, and experiment to find what works for her. One of my favorite things to teach new mothers is nursing while babywearing. Since there are zillions of different carriers, and many ways of nursing in them, collecting a lot of examples in a playlist is super useful.

I’ve posted several videos I made myself; all are short simple ones shot with an iPhone. One of the first videos I posted was a live demonstration of hand expression by a colleague. Within 48 hours, it had thousands of views, and had been flagged as “inappropriate” and removed by YouTube. I fought YouTube, and got it reinstated, now marked “18 and over” and “For Health Education Only.” I also disabled the comments – most of which were coming from people who were not my intended audience.

After that, I switched mostly to videos using props rather than actual breasts. In addition to reducing the troll traffic, props have several advantages. For one thing, they simplify. For another, it’s easy to make a point very quickly. My demo baby (a teddy bear) can be moved around into several different positions, including those that would be uncomfortable for a real baby. Seeing a real baby latch is valuable too, but with my bear, puppet, and knitted breast, I can illustrate the key points several times over in less than a minute. Another lesson I’ve learned is that a 1-minute video is generally more useful than a 10-minute video.

Since my goal in posting videos is to have an easy teaching tool, I have not put ads on my own videos. But it’s an option, and a popular video can make some significant ad revenue. For those who just want to use videos to support their work with mothers, the first step is to create an account, and browse. Search terms like breastfeeding, twins, pumping, whatever you find yourself describing often. When you find something you like, click “Favorite”, or “Add to Playlist.” For a playlist, you will have a chance to create a new playlist, name it (such as “Twin nursing positions”), and add a description. A playlist is good for when you want to organize multiple videos on a topic. Then, you can email or text links to individual videos, or a playlist, or your “channel.” (Or to my channel, which can be found HERE.) This is not a time-consuming process, and it’s free. And it’s much easier than describing that invisible latching baby over the phone.

Jessica head 4Jessica Lang Kosa is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in private practice in the Boston area.  She offers home visits for comprehensive breastfeeding help, and teaches courses in breastfeeding support for professionals who work with mothers and babies.

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Bryson’s Legacy: A Story of Milk Donation and the Love of a Family

Those who attended the 2012 ILCA Conference had the wonderful privilege to view a video presented by Ryan Comfort, of Milk for Thought, which told the story of Amy and Bryan Anderson and their son, Bryson. There was an intense emotion in the room as they shared of their milk donation since his birth and death and we wanted to offer an update of their journey.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmId_ekok9s]
Amy shared with us the following: 

Bryson’s legacy begins eleven years after I fell in love with my high school sweetheart. We had been married for five years and were already the proud parents of two precious children. Our firstborn, Brody, was a passionate 3½ year old boy. And our Joey Skylor was born into heaven in December 2009 for unknown reasons early in the second trimester. Our family felt prepared for the additional joys and love that a new baby would bring, so we were all overjoyed with anticipation to find out we were expecting a baby boy due to arrive March 28th, 2011. However, the Lord had special plans for our precious baby Bryson.

After a month of constant medical interventions to save our son from the complications of a rare condition called LUTO (Lower Urinary Tract Obstruction), Bryson went home to join Joey on heaven’s playground.  It was a beautiful, sunny and windy day on that October 30th, 2010 at 1:04pm when I finally stopped trying to hold onto my baby boy as his body was torn from mine.  It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do, relax and let go of my precious baby, whom I had been incessantly praying for and loving for what seemed like an eternity…  I remember as soon as I felt him leaving I bawled and tearfully called out.  I was hopeless and helpless.  My whole body shuttered with the reality of what was happening.  I just wanted him back, I already missed him so badly.

My husband and I were beyond ourselves, completely lost in our grief and despair and yet so proud of our son’s journey/life.  Daddy noticed how he already resembled his big brother especially in the brow… that warmed our hearts.  What a beautiful and fragile baby he was… I can only imagine how gorgeous he is in heaven, no longer weakened by his delicate body.  Bryson’s body was 13oz and 10in of perfection, with 10 tiny fingers and toes with nails already formed on them.  I fondly remember watching him on the dozens of ultrasounds we had… he certainly was a fighter and a persistent little one, much like his mommy.  His personality was very strong and he had every intention of being a significant part of our family and our hearts… in that respect his life was a complete success!  He has made a huge impact in the lives of many.

As we heard at the conference, Amy began pumping and donating her pre-term milk. Their “Donation Through Grief” has totaled 3,239 ounces of milk to Mother’s Milk Bank of New England and 8,523 ounces to Mother’s Milk Bank of Ohiothat’s nearly 92 gallons of breast milk! Bryson’s milk was literally sent all around the country and even around the world.

Amy and Bryan are currently involved in advocating for bereaved parents by educating medical professionals and the community at large in how to care for those who have lost infants, especially in terms of lactation options after a stillbirth or earlier loss.  Amy says,

I’m persistently advocating to amend the US federal law “Break Time for Nursing Mothers” under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  The law is intended to support appropriate break time for expression as needed at work for “nursing mothers”.  However, this verbiage has made it possible for my place of employment to say that the law doesn’t apply in my situation because I don’t have a nursing baby, therefore am not considered a “nursing mother”.  Regardless of the fact that my body was lactating uncontrollably even though my baby was not at home to latch on.  My goal is for the law to pertain to any “lactating women”, so employers cannot use the law to discriminate against a bereaved mother whose already experiencing unfathomable grief.

So far I’ve been completely unsuccessful with getting the attention of any of my state representatives, the Department of Labor has directed me to my local La Leche League, and the White House has also yet to reply to my e-mails (lol, yup, I even reached out to the president/first lady).  My best bet so far is to get as many people as possible to hear my Bryson’s legacy.  People need to know lactation can happen even after only 20 weeks gestation (and even earlier), and that donating their baby’s breastmilk is a precious, much appreciated gift that gives meaning their baby’s short life and helps with the grief process.  I’ve already recieved a few responses that our story inspired a couple other moms to “Donate Through Grief” which is huge to me (though I understand it’s a very personal choice, the option needs to be available to the mom).  

At Lactation Matters, we are proud to share Bryson’s story and know that there are many in our community who would have unique insight for the advocacy that the Andersons are pursuing.  Please contact Amy at aranderson33@gmail.com if you’d like to help take up the cause.

Have you worked with bereaved mothers to donate milk? How has this practice positively impacted them?

12

Hats Off to Kentucky Educational Television for An Awesome Breastfeeding Panel Discussion!

Kentucky Educational Television (KET) is Kentucky’s educational television network with a mission of “educating, inspiring, informing, and connecting its citizens through the power of public media.” With Kentucky’s breastfeeding rates ranked 48th among states in the US according to the 2012 CDC Breastfeeding Report Card (59.4% ever-breastfed; 9.6% exclusively breastfed at 6 months), there is lots of opportunity to educate, inspire, and inform on this important topic. Check out the following trailer for the segment on YouTube.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g04uGeBaQDk]

KET took up the call for this year’s National Breastfeeding Awareness Month by airing a 28-minute segment on all things breastfeeding: benefits, barriers, laws, workplace considerations, hospital initiatives, cultural challenges, and more. The panel of breastfeeding gurus included Doraine Bailey, MA, IBCLC of the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department (and ILCA’s eGlobe editor), Jan Johnson, RD, IBCLC of the Pike County Health Department, and Cerise Bouchard, President of the Lactation Improvement Network of KY.

You can view the 28 minute segment HERE.

Kudos to KET for covering this important topic!  

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Just When You Didn’t Plan Anything for World Breastfeeding Week…..

World Breastfeeding Week brought about wonderful opportunities to engage with our communities about the incredible impact of breastfeeding.  This is one IBCLCs account of her thought process as she navigated doing a live, on-air television interview.

By Denise Altman, RN, IBCLC, LCCE

One day last week, after seeing my patients, I checked my messages and listened to one from a reporter wanting to ask me some questions about World Breastfeeding Week (WBW). My knee jerk reaction was either to not return the call-I had been at the beach for a week and was woefully behind-or hand her off to another IBCLC practicing in a pediatric office. However, I just don’t have it in me to pass up a marketing opportunity, so I called her back.

She sounded young, and was calling about WBW in general but she also wanted to know what exactly I do. She didn’t know much about the Affordable Healthcare Act but knew that there were parts that addressed breastfeeding . She wanted help with a story angle and maybe a live interview.

Story angle? Role of the lactation consultant? Oh yeah, this is worth pursuing.

I spent about ten minutes just talking, and hit her with enough stuff to get her excited. I
then added the suggestion of also having mama and baby on camera. Sold! She wanted a
live remote tomorrow morning at 7:30am. She had to confirm with her producer and I had to figure out how to mange this new activity on a full schedule, so we decided to touch base by phone at the end of the day.

After hanging up, I started thinking….who do I want?

I need a working mama who looks professional but not too “businessey”. Nice round happy baby who is easy going. Both available at short notice. Mama is willing to be primed and focused but can articulate well without script.

Wait a minute! I have a speech therapist in my patient population (this is why I always ask what people do for a living)! I remembered how she communicates, that she works with kids and understands the science as well as the parent perspective. Score!

Next, I have to decide on my two key points (one for each hand). This is my focus for every interview question so I stay on track.

Breastfeeding is Normal.
IBCLC are the Experts.

In between the mental gyrations, I have to do a home visit to see a mama, and of course, line up my on camera mama and consider back up. I emailed the reporter resources from the ILCA website such as What is an IBCLC?, How IBCLCs Make a Difference, and 10 More Reasons to Breastfeed. There is a ton of support materials already created and the added benefit is that the reporter knows then where to go for future stories or additional info. I also suggested live remote from chiropractor’s office where I do classes-it’s a thank you to the doc, plus the space is soothing and quiet, rather than a busy, cold newsroom. I sent a short list of common myths (along with truth statements) and recommended this as the focus of the interview.

Finally, I rearranged my patient schedule for the next morning. Then, I sent a “heads up”
on my personal social media outlets. I think I have done as much as I can, but there must
be something more.

Can I make this opportunity go further?

Once I called the reporter again about the final details, and then suggested that she
continue coverage for the full week. Then I pitched three additional story ideas with
contact info:

  1. A local NICU (the first or only in the state?) that has started using donor milk that has previously had an unheard of necrotizing enterocolitis rate.
  2. Healthy Carolina’s Lactation Program, which is helping to institute corporate lactation wellness program within our local university.
  3. Local Big Latch On event which could highlight lots of nursing mamas and babes in one handy spot.

After then phone call, I then gave various organizational contacts a heads up that TV reporter may call. Not only could they get positive exposure for breastfeeding support, but
is a great way to build or strengthen community relationships.

The night before, I didn’t sleep very well. I hate doing stuff on TV because my double chin always shows, and I tend to talk fast when I get excited about a topic. I decided to channel Leigh Anne O’Connor, who many private practice IBCLCs would vote “Most Likely To Get Her Own TV Show”! She is an IBCLC in New York who often appears in TV and radio spots. She always appears very calm and focused (maybe its her acting background).

In the morning, the reporter tells me that the producer has given not one, but two segments due to all of the good information she presented! I dressed carefully, trying to look both professional and approachable, wearing a pressed blouse with my business logo on it. When the mama arrived, we quickly discussed the focus for her-normal, working mother, benefits from professional standpoint as well as family focus. She nailed all of it, and the baby was so cute reaching for the mic, that I was hard pressed not to laugh through the whole thing. In my head, I repeated “Normal and IBCLC”.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G14gpzkOBVk]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxLiOwfk1qE]

As she was packing up, the young reporter told me she is one of 12 kids, all breastfed.
When she called home the previous night and shared what she was covering and why, her
mama told her she was proud of her for doing this kind of story.

The world is round.

Because of a call that I didn’t want to return, and a TV appearance I didn’t want to do,
breastfeeding support had a good day in South Carolina.

Denise Altman is a private practice LC in Columbia, South Carolina, USA, and author of two textbooks for healthcare professionals; “History and Assessment: Its All in the Details” and “Mentoring Our Future“. A frequent conference speaker, she enjoys sharing topics and stories “from the trenches”. Her professional picture has been photo shopped to remove her double chin. You can reach Denise at obrnmom@aol.com.

4

Web Resources for IBCLCs Working on Baby Friendly Initiatives

Written by Wendy Wright, MBA, IBCLC

The emphasis on becoming Baby Friendly in the United States is growing.  In fact, in late 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded nearly $6 million over three years to the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality to help hospitals nationwide make quality improvements to maternity care to better support mothers and babies to be able to breastfeed.   Click here for information on getting involved in the NICHQ’s Best Fed Beginnings program.

Where is your institution on the Baby Friendly Spectrum? 

Whether you are considering applying, just initiating the process, or in the depth of completion for certification – here are some web resources that may be useful toward your efforts.

Initially, make sure you have investigated all of the great information directly from Baby Friendly USA.  This site is filled with details, schedules, suggestions, and resources.  It’s a great place to begin your path toward baby friendly.

The breastfeeding coalitions have stepped up and offer some great video resources for those of us in the trenches of the Baby Friendly effort.  Here is a catchy, simple video from breastfeedLA.org.  IBCLCs could utilize this to introduce the 10 steps, congratulate staff for accomplishing several of the steps, or to motivate staff to progress through the Ten Steps – take a look!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRr1QK_saa4]

Another coalition, this time in Massachusetts, is pulling together a baby friendly hospital rap video to emphasize that breastfeeding costs nothing and has no downside.  The video is currently in its teaser stage – take a look and contribute if the effort inspires you.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSyYtd_k0Mc]

The California Department of Health recently published a new training toolkit on its website.  This toolkit is designed for both administrators and the interdisciplinary team that will develop and implement the new policies to support and promote breastfeeding.  The reference list alone is worth visiting the site!

Lastly, as a previous marketing executive, I just have to share some motivational and promotional YouTube contributions from some Baby Friendly hospitals.  These videos would be great to produce once you reach Baby Friendly status, however, they can also be utilized to demonstrate to administration the potential marketing advantages the Baby Friendly Designation can provide.   “Wouldn’t it be great if our hospital had this type of press coverage?”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCBcu0Mn5jk]

Texas Health Celebrates “Baby-Friendly” designation for three hospitals.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG8ZzcI2g1w]

Mission Hospital becomes the first Baby Friendly hospital in North Carolina.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms2YQmOzcik&w=420&h=315]

Harlem Hospital becomes the first hospital in New York City to gain Baby Friendly recognition.

As stated by William H. Dietz, MD, PH.D, director of the United States Center of Disease Control’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. “We know that breastfeeding rates are higher in Baby-Friendly hospitals, yet only 5 percent of babies in this country are born in these facilities. We need to help hospitals improve their maternity care to better support breastfeeding.”  I’m hoping these web resources assist with your important efforts.

Please add additional web resources to the comments section below so we can all benefits from the wealth of information available via the Internet.

Wendy Wright, MBA, IBCLC Co-Owner Lactation Navigation – Workplace Lactation Consultants, LLC

2

Video Vignettes – Family Support for Breastfeeding

All rights reserved by LittlePao

Breastfeeding is an intimate relationship, rather than a skill to be learned.  While mother and baby are getting to know each other and forming their intimate bond – lactation consultants can guide family members to also play a supportive role in breastfeeding success.

Family members express their love and support in many ways – some expressions of love are supportive of breastfeeding and some less so.   Grandma that encourages the mother to get some rest and send the infant to the nursery is doing so out of love without realizing the potential negative impact the separation may cause on the breastfeeding relationship.  Or, brother that mentions his own practice of initiating solids early to improve sleep may inadvertently cause a diminished milk supply before baby is ready to wean.

Lactation consultants can encourage new mothers (and their families if possible) to agree on feeding goals.  What is the breastfeeding goal for mother and baby?  6 months?  One year?  IBCLCs can also educate the family during the hospital stay about the normal behaviors of infants, the expected frequency of feeding, the sleep patters of newborns and the cues infants send when they are hungry.  Working the education into the conversation as mother and LC visit during the hospital stay will support the breastfeeding dyad.

As always with this monthly blog entry, we have identified several YouTube videos available to assist the LC or the breastfeeding mother in defining family support.

Baby Gooroo offers this great, short visual about fathers and their important role in supporting the breastfeeding dyad- How Can Dad Help?  [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ba8VISnBJ4]

WomenseNews has a great video called “A Father’s Side of Breastfeeding.”  This video is targeted for African-American mothers and fathers to address the statistic of lower incidence of breastfeeding in the African-American population.  Appropriate for all audiences – excellent points, personable presenters and accurate information.   [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIM5gQMW23U]

Please send additional videos you are using to encourage family support of breastfeeding to lactationmatters@gmail.com.  We would love to feature them on our blog!

Wendy Wright, MBA, IBCLC Co-Owner Lactation Navigation – Workplace Lactation Consultants, LLC

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Nursing is Normal – A Video from the Central District Breastfeeding Coalition

Thank you so much to Betsy Ayers, a lactation consultant at Meridian St. Luke’s hospital in Boise, Idaho, for sending this video to Lactation Matters.  What a beautiful testiment to normalizing breastfeeding, especially in public!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysntQ9g7zyo]

If you have a video or story that you would like to share with our readers, please email us at Lactationmatters@gmail.com

1

Video Vignettes – Breastfeeding in Public

In our monthly Video Vignette series, we review the use of the internet to empower moms to meet their breastfeeding goals.  This month, let’s utilize YouTube to assist moms in getting out of the house and finding the confidence to breastfeed in public.

As we all know, today’s new mothers are excited to reconnect with the outside world.  Breastfeeding mothers can take advantage of the simplicity of breastfeeding outside of the home once they get some helpful tips.   During consultations and hospital rounds, suggestions for breastfeeding in public can be provided; a handout or follow-up email listing videos to watch at home can supplement your ‘breastfeeding in public’ message.

Breastfeeding in Public Tips:  Encourage mothers to practice breastfeeding at home until they can put their baby to the breast without fumbling.  Suggest nursing in new places around their own home and while doing new activities (talking on the phone or working at the computer).  Move on to nursing at a friend’s house or in a changing room at a shopping mall or local clothing store.  Once the private locations are mastered and breastfeeding confidence is established, recommend breastfeeding on a park bench, in the shopping mall, or at a quiet restaurant.

Clothing should provide easy access to breasts.  Loose tops with layered buttoning shirts or sweaters provide great cover and will give the mother plenty of ability to maneuver.  Unbuttoning from the bottom up will allow for discrete coverage of the mother’s sides and will keep her shoulders covered and warm.   For additional privacy, a shawl or baby blanket draped across mother’s shoulder can form a tent over baby as she nurses.

Nursing in a sling, carrier, or wrap is also a great recommendation for breastfeeding in pubic.

Lactation Consultants can also mention that nursing openly and proudly reminds people that breasts are for feeding babies.  Nursing in public helps our society become a more welcoming place for mothers and babies.  Encourage the mother to smile proudly as she nurses – she is doing the best for her baby.

As follow-up to verbal tips and advice, we have selected three videos to encourage breastfeeding in public through the use of the internet.

The Australians have it right with this short video.  Mothers will laugh and gain confidence as they see how ridiculous breastfeeding in some setting can be.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnReJeQrK0k]

Baby Gooroo presents an empowering video including dads discussing their fears about breastfeeding in public and exposure.  Simple, short and multi-cultural.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HceoMoftTx0]

Lastly, this simple woman-to-woman video presents the legal perspective to breastfeeding in public.  Mothers are encouraged to check out their state laws and provided with tips for confronting individuals who may challenge the woman’s right to breastfeed.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQorsEwB53E]

Remember, YouTube is the perfect classroom for the breastfeeding mother.  She can watch at her leisure, in the privacy of her own home, pause, review and watch some more.

These videos are only a beginning – we encourage you to search for additional video

Wendy Wright, MBA, IBCLC, Guess Blogger

Utilizing the web to reach our breastfeeding target market Co-owner Lactation Navigation – Workplace Lactation Consultants, LLC

2

Hands-Free Breastfeeding

Most breastfeeding talks and support groups eventually get to the question – “How long should I breastfeed?” As an IBCLC, I offer the AAP Guidelines (American Academy of Pediatrics) as the basis for my answer, as I imagine most of you do. We are recommending a minimum of six months and up to two years and beyond – sounds great,  however, in order to make this work for the average busy mother – we should also provide some tools to assist her in accomplishing her goal.

This is where Hands-Free Breastfeeding comes in. The ability to feed baby and accomplish another task at the same time (talk on the phone, type, cook or care for another baby) can offer breastfeeding mothers the needed support they will require at some point during their nursing career.

How can you demonstrate hands-free breastfeeding and stay on schedule with appointments and rounds?

YouTube is the perfect classroom for the breastfeeding mother. She can watch at her leisure, in the privacy of her own home, pause, review and watch some more. We offer several videos here – some are more professional than others. Watch them all and select the one that “speaks” to your clients. We also encourage you to look for additional videos (there are new ones posted every day!) and share on this blog!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLduLJFSJn4]

Pros: Simple, short and anyone can do this
Cons: Mothers may not have this type of wrap
I see LC’s referring mothers to this video in newborn classes, in newsletters and on their blogs. A great, simple resource.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbalsUY408k&NR=1]

Bonus Video:  (another mother breastfeeding in the Moby)

Hands-free pumping bras also come to mind when I think of hands-free breastfeeding, a guide on these can be found here at mommasbaby.com So, next time you have a mother ask “How long should I breastfeed?” you will not only have a medically supported (AAP) factual answer – but you’ll also have some mother-to-mother videos to share and improve her likelihood of breastfeeding for six months and beyond.. Enabling the pumping mother to go hands-free will allow for breast massage, compression and multi-tasking.  A snug fit is best, and if pumping frequently, encourage her to purchase two bras, if possible, so there can always be one in the laundry.

Are you currently incorporating YouTube video recommendations into your practice?

If so, which ones? and When?

What are your favorite videos?

What other ideas do you have to share about YouTube videos and our important work?

Wendy Wright MBA, IBCLC
Guest Blogger – Utilizing the web to reach our breastfeeding target market
Co-owner Lactation Navigation – Workplace Lactation Consultants, LLC
www.LactationNav.com

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