Lactation 101

My passion for breastfeeding started with the birth of my son 7 years ago. I knew I wanted to breastfeed. I researched as much as I could. I looked at the “must have” lists and tips and tricks found on Pinterest.

I watched YouTube videos, I read books, I talked with my mom, and yet I still felt unprepared when he was born and I placed him at my breast. Why didn’t I know he might have a tongue tie, and I didn’t know how to check or ask if it was a problem? Why didn’t I know that he would want to nurse every 10 minutes the night we got home from the hospital? Why was I so worried about low supply but didn’t know I could have an oversupply that caused mass spit-ups, gas and hours of crying along with painful clogged ducts?

A few months later, my desire to scream all of the questions I had (along with the answers I had learned) from the rooftops, aka Instagram and Facebook, sparked. This is when I started helping other mothers virtually and in person with breastfeeding. Me talking about my own hardships and overcoming them allowed others to see me as a safe person to confide in.

So often I was called to someone’s side to help with breastfeeding challenges in the early postpartum days. And even more often than that I was sent a text or message on social media asking for advice on supply, latching, “is this normal?”, and “please tell me this gets easier”.

I’ve sat and held someone’s hand while they’ve cried after being dismissed by healthcare providers and are struggling with wait times to see lactation professionals. I had to do something. I had to do something to prepare people. I had to do something to solve some of these problems before they happened. I had to figure out a way to be proactive.

I did what so many new moms do and joined some “mom groups” on Facebook. There I noticed misinformation and myths surrounding breastfeeding were running wild. So many people with great intentions were inadvertently causing harm to breastfeeding relationships.

My passion for lactation support and desire to help others while also fighting misinformation is how Lactation 101 came to be.

Being a Type A, overly prepared, planner lover, sparked many ideas for this class. For me, it isn’t enough to give people information. I want to leave each person who takes this class feeling confident and prepared. I want women (and lactating individuals) to trust their bodies. So often we are told we cannot and that we don’t truly know our bodies. We can and we do.

People are eager to learn from others, as I learned from the questions and comments from online mom groups. I’m hoping they’ll take what they learn from me, someone educated on lactation with hands-on experience helping others (as well as almost 5 years of personal experience) and someone who is dedicated to continuing education and staying up to date on new information and use that to help others.

Delanie King - Doula