Today's post is from Anna Le Grange, an IBCLC in Kent who is joining us to speak out against the cuts to breastfeeding support during 'Breastfeeding Celebration Week'. If, like us, you feel there really isn't much to celebrate (other than the amazing families who breastfeed in spite of the lack of Continue Reading
Midwives in Dunkirk Refugee Camp refuse to Follow International Best Practice
There is a French translation of this article below. This article edited 11/3/17 to add - we are not accusing the midwves of GSF of not supporting breastfeeding or believing that breastmilk is the safest manner to feed babies. We are, however, concerned that mothers who are using formula are not Continue Reading
Breastfeeding: The UK’s First Report Card
The general concensus for our end of term report is that opt-quoted phrase, Could do better The teachers are the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative, 'a collaborative national assessment of the implementation of key policies and programmes from the WHO’s Global Strategy for Infant and Young Continue Reading
The Evil Nip-Nasties: what to do with cracks and blisters
When I was a little girl I was always grazing my knees climbing trees and falling off my bike. I used to love picking at the scabs, worrying away at the edges to see if it was ready to come off. I loved seeing the brand new pink skin underneath. My mum told me scabs were 'nature's plaster' and to Continue Reading
The Who’s Who of Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding mums can have a variety of people rock up to help in the early days - and in my experience, many parents can be pretty confused as to who's who and what experience and qualifications they have. This seems like a massive shame to me - personally, if I wanted to learn Italian, I'd want Continue Reading
No pain, no gain? What EXACTLY do we mean by breastfeeding pain?
This article is inspired by a post I wrote on facebook. The post prompted a very long thread of thoughts and feelings. Here is what I wrote: The breastfeeding myth about pain being normal is a tough nut to crack. It is common because women haven't grown up learning how to latch a baby and because Continue Reading
What is an ‘IBCLC’ and Why I’ll Probably Never Be One
OK, before we start, here's a disclaimer: this is a rant. A rather personal one - although there are many people in the same situation and it does have ramifications for breastfeeding support in this country (UK). I'll do my best not to come across as a moaning minny and to find the positives as I Continue Reading
The Politics of Breastfeeding: Partnerships, Parameters, Taboos and Pecadillos
The following was, more or less, a speech I gave at the 2014 Doula UK conference. I am passionate about breastfeeding and the ways in which doulas fit into the breastfeeding support landscape. I'd like to take you on a little tour of some of the social attitudes to breastfeeding that interest me Continue Reading
Callie’s Story
Molly arrived early. After an admittedly fabulous birth, nothing had prepared me for the shock of having that birth nearly a month before I expected it. The labour progressed quickly and I was only aware of being in labour for the last two and a half hours: when they plopped my daughter on my chest, Continue Reading
Mama on the Move – Breastfeeding with an Audience?
Public breastfeeding, Nursing in Public (NIP) or my daughter's favourite, 'mama on the move' is a controversial subject. Particularly in the US it seems, there is a constant stream of press and blog articles about whether it should be allowed at all, let alone discreetly. The lines seem clearly Continue Reading