By Dr. Shereen Abdelghani Soliman Based upon the WHO and UNICEF recommendations, breastfeeding/chestfeeding should be initiated immediately after delivery and be the exclusive form of nourishment for the first 6 months of life – meaning no other foods or liquids are...
By Joan Randle, MSHS, BSN, IBCLC Learning how to breastfeed a newborn is hard! Even under the best of circumstances adjusting to the arrival of a newborn and learning to breastfeed/chestfeed can be incredibly difficult. Even more difficult can be preterm births,...
By Jennie Toland, BSN, RN, CLC Let’s start with a simple exercise by holding five fingers up. Now, if any of the following sentences resonant with you regardless of how minor it may be, please put a finger down. Put a finger down if you have ever been harassed. Put a...
By Shannon Lucas Nearly 30 years ago, the Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition was created with a simple mission: to decrease infant mortality. We began working with local families to meet their needs, expanding programs, and doing all we could to ensure every baby...
By Christine Staricka, BS, IBCLC, RLC, CE, FILCA I see you. I know how hard you are working right now. The U.S. formula shortage/crisis/availability problem is rivaling the early pandemic days for the “most intense timeframe for lactation care providers” award. It’s...
By Debra Brender, BS Nutrition, RN, IBCLC One evening I came home from a day working at the hospital and said to my husband, “I have the hardest job in the world,” to which he replied, “No, you don’t, think about coal miners.” Ok, so he has a point. However, when I...
By Ashley Weber, PhD, RN, RNC-NIC Last year the Journal of Human Lactation published a case study titled, “Realigning Expectations with Reality: A Case Study on Maternal Mental Health During a Difficult Breastfeeding Journey.” Below is the story of the “30 yr G1P1...
By Genny Stiller C-PNP, IBCLC, CNLS It’s Autism Acceptance Month! Let’s discuss how to demonstrate autism acceptance inside of your lactation practice. We’re not going to talk about how to increase awareness of autism, because I think you’re already aware of it. It’s...
By Laura Serke RD, CSPCC, LD, IBCLC Did you know March is National Nutrition Month? What a great time to talk about human milk! With the recent FDA approval for human milk analyzers, we will be hearing more about the nutritional content in human milk. As lactation...
By Tiek Johnson I am a doula, so I undoubtedly think highly of the work doulas do. Growing up in a large family, I’m pretty sure I’ve been a doula for the majority of my life, but I unofficially stepped into the role in 2016 and officially trained in 2019. I define a...