In this parent interview episode, we focus on Emily‘s experience with returning to work and breastfeeding, specifically going back to work after maternity leave, pumping and continuing to breastfeed her baby. She worked as a hospital pharmacist in a fast-paced and high-pressure role, the type of job where taking a “break” to pump meant leaving extr…

We have another parent interview episode! We were thrilled when Alicia reached out to us from across the country to offer to share different parts of her feeding journey with baby Grant, especially factors related to returning to work and breastfeeding. We discussed Grant’s week-long nursing strike soon after Alicia returned to work, the intense em…

Jaundice and Hypoglycemia Did you know there are new guidelines for diagnosing and treating jaundice and infant hypoglycemia? In this episode, Barbara Robertson and Nancy Mohrbacher discuss updates to the clinical practice guidelines for safe bilirubin levels and when babies might need intervention. Nancy and Barbara review why bilirubin levels are…

How important are our communication skills as lactation professionals for our families’ success? This episode is all about the power of words as lactation supporters to boost or undermine our nursing families self efficacy. Barbara and Jessica discuss how the social emotional state of breast/chestfeeding families plays a huge role in the postpartum…

Lots of families are using formula to feed their babies, either partially or fully, short-term or long-term. But there’s not a lot of info shared with parents on how to feed formula in the healthiest way. In today’s episode, we share some guidelines and ideas on bottle feeding techniques, appropriate amounts based on age and baby’s size, preparing …

Breastfeeding/chestfeeding should not be painful! Ongoing and significant breastfeeding pain is a sign that something is wrong. Unfortunately, Julie‘s feeding journey was full of pain for the first few months! She was in a lot of discomfort both while the baby was feeding, later in between feeds and throughout the day as well. It turned out this wa…

This is part two of Tara’s breastfeeding story! This one got really long, so we made it into two parts. That’s what happens when Jessica’s best friend is the guest. They just kept going! Tara‘s original vision was to exclusively breastfeed Evie for at least a year. But as she says, even though these were her “best laid plans,” the reality ended up …

This one got really long, so we made it into two parts! That’s what happens when Jessica’s best friend is the guest. They just kept going! Tara‘s original vision was to exclusively breastfeed Evie for at least a year. But as she says, even though these were her “best laid plans,” the reality ended up quite different. She struggled with low milk sup…

This one is so special! Liz shares her journey of growing her family via a gestational surrogate, and how she induced lactation to bring in her own milk supply! Jessica hosted, and said “beautiful” and “oh my gosh” more times than you can count throughout this amazing story of strength, support, and love for baby Eve and Liz‘s family. (Apologies th…

New Mastitis protocol? Yes, the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine has added a new protocol, #36, the Mastitis Protocol. Actually, it is updated but the ideas in it are so revolutionary, it may as well be new! Dr. Katrina Mitchell was a major force behind these changes. She had noticed in her clinic as a Breastfeeding Medicine Doctor, that parents w…

Sarah’s breastfeeding story Sometimes it is so nice to just hear a positive breastfeeding story! We tend to hear more about the how things went wrong instead of right. Sarah is lucky enough to have a lot of family support and access to lactation help when she needed it, so guess what? She reached her… The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 76: S…

Barbara is joined by Nancy Mohrbacher to talk about education, particularly about professional lactation education. In the field of education, the traditional method of lecture and Power Point stills dominates the trainings that are available. Research has show over and over again that this is one of the most non-effective ways to help people learn…

My work is extremely important to me and is a perfect fit for all of my beliefs and my personality. To me, what we do here at the Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor is to help families either become more attached to their babies (hopefully through breastfeeding but sometimes this isn’t possible) and also help… The post All Things Breastfeeding 74: O…

Yes! Yes! Yes! We say birth and postpartum doulas are the front line defenders of breastfeeding along with nurses and midwives! I believe that the explosion of doulas in Detroit, MI is one of main reasons for this incredibly, too long time in coming change: “According to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services data,… The post All Things Br…

In 2020 Nancy Mohrbacher published her latest book, Breastfeeding Answers, 2nd Edition. We jokingly call this book BA2 and it is one of the most important books in the field of lactation. I was honored that Nancy was willing to co-host a professional book group with me. I had hosted two other book groups before,… The post All Things Breastfeeding 7…

So sorry for the delays in podcasts! COVID has done a real number on me and I have been struggling to get tasks done that are not critical. Jessica and I are committed to recording and releasing more often! Thank you for your patience. Barbara Back in May 2022 I got this email: “I don’t… The post All Things Breastfeeding 71: Miriam’s Story- Exclusi…

Breastfeeding twins? Yes! Sometimes you feel like breastfeeding one baby is almost impossible but then you have TWO babies! Anna shares her story about how she is successfully breastfeeding her twins. It was not easy but also achievable with the right help and support. When you have babies who are early, even a little bit,… The post All Things Brea…

Becoming an IBCLC is not easy! Many people are surprised to find out that to becoming an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) is hard. You need 8 college courses, 6 continuing education courses, 300-1000 clinical hours working with breastfeeding families, a 90 hour professional lactation course, and THEN you can qualify to tak…

What is hand expression? Great question! Basically it means getting breastmilk out of a lactation breast without a baby or a breast pump. At The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor, hand expression is a typical tool we review with most of our families because you never know when you might get caught with no baby,… The post All Things Breastfeeding 68…

Breastfeeding book groups? What on earth do I mean by breastfeeding book groups? So, fall of 2019 I had just finished helping Lisa Marasco with some final edits of her and Diana West’ new edition of Making More Milk, 2nd Edition. The holidays were coming and I ordered a copy of the book for each… The post All Things Breastfeeding 67: Breastfeeding …

OMG. It has been too long! Karen and I recorded this back in June but due to Covid I haven’t been able to get this to move to the top of my list to publish. Thank Jessica for pushing me (in the nicest way) to keep after this and get it done! We love breastfeeding… The post Episode 66: Karen’s Breastfeeding Story appeared first on The Breastfeeding …

Barbara Robertson chats with Nancy Mohrbacher about her new edition of Breastfeeding Answers, 2nd Edition and their upcoming project. Do you want to unlock the secrets of Breastfeeding Answers, 2nd Edition? Barbara D. Robertson will be joined by Nancy Mohrbacher, the author of the book, to discuss their upcoming venture and break this down for… The…

Oversupply? Too much breastmilk? Is that really a problem? The answer is, YES, oversupply is a big problem for people who are struggling with this. Milk everywhere, choking babies, are there answers? For sure! Listen to this podcast to get more information. Symptoms: Baby choking Baby clucking at the beginning of feed (when the milk… The post All T…

Another breastfeeding story! This one is particularly dear to Barbara’s heart. Melissa came to see Barbara after the birth of her first baby and was struggling with her rate of breastmilk production. Although Melissa was able to increase her supply a bit, she still needed to supplement her baby. Second baby When Melissa was pregnant… The post All T…

Here are our COVID updates! Barbara accidently published the unedited version of this podcast! Here is the edited version. Sorry! Jessica COVID updates Jessica is at home with her two your children trying not to miss a beat while being a full time parent and having her and her partner continue to work full time.… The post All Things Breastfeeding 6…

A conversation with Laurel Wilson IBCLC! Yes, we were lucky enough that Laurel Wilson IBCLC reached out to us to do a podcast. We have been big fans of Laurel for a number of years. I attended a talk to hers in Grand Rapids a number of years ago and was hooked! Don’t know Laurel… The post All Things Breastfeeding 61: Conversation with Laurel Wilson…

What is your breastfeeding support network? Who do you need in this team? Partners Partners are a critical player in your breastfeeding support network. A partner can make or break a breastfeeding relationship. Not necessarily because they don’t support breastfeeding but if you are struggling with breastfeeding, this struggle can be hard to watch i…

A new breastfeeding story! Lauren is a very experienced breastfeeding mother. She joins us today with baby Luke today to talk about her breastfeeding story. She has nursed four children! When you have more than one child it is important to remember that each breastfeeding experience will be different. Each breastfeeding journey is a unique… The pos…

Caleb not latching? Oh no! We continue Jessica’s breastfeeding story. Please don’t worry, it has a happy ending! We ended with Jessica in the pit of despair and Caleb not latching. Even with all the support and knowledge that Jessica has, she is ready for the final hoop to become an IBCLC, taking the exam,… The post All Things Breastfeeding 58: Par…

Jessica’s second breastfeeding story is a dozy! When we have our second baby we think, well this has to be easier than the first time. Right? In Jessica’s case this was not true! Her breastfeeding story is powerful! Yes, those baby worries weren’t there (you rarely worry that you might accidentally kill your second baby… The post All Things Breastf…

New Breast Pumps? What are these new pumps? Jessica and Barbara are going to talk about two types of relatively new pumps that are on the market now. We wanted to make sure that these pumps were reliable before we gave our thoughts. In the pump market that takes 2-3 years! The first few thousand… The post All Things Breastfeeding 56: New Breast Pum…

Know when it’s time to wean your baby is not always easy. When is it time to wean your baby? Only you get to decide! Once a baby is over six months of age you can start to get pressure from others. Is that baby STILL nursing? Yes! Remember, the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding… The post All Things Breastfeeding 55: Is it time to w…

Jamie’s Breastfeeding Story In this podcast episode Barbara and Jessica talk to Jamie about her breastfeeding journey with her little one Zelda. Each breastfeeding story is very different and Jamie’s is no exception. She struggled with unexpected infertility which made her story very different than she planned before getting pregnant. Take a listen…

Partners and breastfeeding? How do partners fit is with breastfeeding? This can look many ways, there is no one size fits all. In this podcast Jessica and Barbara talk about options for how this can look for families. The sound is a little wonky in this podcast so please forgive us! Many times if a… The post All Things Breastfeeding 53: Partners an…

What is hand expression? Great question! Basically it means getting breastmilk out of a lactation breast without a baby or a breast pump. At The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor, hand expression is a typical tool we review with most of our families because you never know when you might get caught with no baby,… The post All Things Breastfeeding 68…

Nipple shield survey results! Our nipple shield survey is discussed in this podcast. We had a whopping 4500 families and 500 lactation professionals fill out the survey! We got so much interesting information from this survey. Of course there are some limitations from the information we gathered. First of all, this survey was only… The post All Thi…

Breastmilk changes over time! Really, this is true! Yes, in this podcast Barbara and Jessica talk about how breastmilk changes over time. It is really quite amazing! Many health care providers tell families there is no nutritional value for babies from breastmilk after one year. Like it turns into water! Breastmilk is a living, dynamic… The post Al…

Breast feeding failure? Most women in the USA want to breastfeed yet many of these women don’t reach their breastfeeding goals which is often defined as “breast feeding failure”. In some states, as many as 90% or more of families initiate breastfeeding. These states tend to be on the east and west coasts of our… The post All Things Breastfeeding 50…

Nursing in public? Didn’t we all decide that nursing in public was fine? Apparently not! There are still so many people who get their panties in a bunch when they see a family breastfeeding in public! Jessica and Barbara discuss the latest study on nursing in public. This article concerns the images of women nursing… The post All Things Breastfeedi…

Milk banking Non-profit milk banking in the United States is rapidly growing! We have the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) here is the US, Mexico, and Canada. At this point we have 27 milk banks and 5 under development in North America. Milk banking was developed in 1985. These milk banks have… The post All Things Breastfeed…

D-MER? What is D-MER? This is a condition that every family should be aware of, not because it is going to happen to you. It is actually quite rare. But because when it does happen to a breastfeeding family the mother can feel like she is going crazy. So please listen to this podcast so… The post All Things Breastfeeding 48: D-MER appeared first on…

Breastfeeding and Medications Breastfeeding and medications can cause a lot of confusion! Many mothers are told they cannot breastfeed while taking certain medications but this is often not true. We will discuss how medications can possibly get into breastmilk, a process called diffusion, FYI, and what families can do if they have questions or conc…

Barbara and Jessica are busting breast feeding myths! What have you been told about breastfeeding? So many things! People have all kinds of thoughts and opinions. Breast feeding myths come from many places. Family and friends have many old wives tales or assume that what happened to they must be going to happen to you,… The post All Things Breastfe…

What are the top 5 breast feeding concerns? Well, we have been busy bees figuring this out and helping to provide information to families! I have spent a lot of time and resources on marketing this past year trying to address the needs of my clients. This means a new website! I have created new… The post All Things Breastfeeding 45: Top 5 Breast Fe…

Why are we talking about the World Health Assembly and breastfeeding? Because world policy sets the priorities for money spent on support. And we all know we can use more breastfeeding support. The New York Times released a story about the news. Here is another story about this. What was the controversy? World Health Assembly… The post All Things B…

Jessica’s Working and Breastfeeding Story! We are adding a new type of podcast to our collection beginning with our new intern Jessica! We have been having mothers share their breastfeeding stories but now we want mothers to hear from other mothers about the realities of going back to work while you are breastfeeding. Jessica’s working… The post Al…

Breastfeeding Missions? What does this mean? I, Barbara Robertson, want to make Breastfeeding Missions a reality! I have always worked on giving back to the community. I have been hosting a weekly, free, breastfeeding support group for over 10 years, volunteer when I can for her local WIC office, and offer a sliding scale for… The post All Things B…

How to become an IBCLC? This week Barbara and Barb talk about Barbara’s journey to becoming an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant)! Some people think because the IBCLC credential is consider part of the health care field that you have to be a nurse. This is not true! Many of the biggest movers and… The post All Things Breastf…

As promised, we are back in business and Dawn is going to be sharing her breastfeeding story. Dawn’s work with babies has led her down paths she didn’t expect. Isn’t this often the case? Who knew my own struggles with breastfeeding would lead to a whole career I never imaged? We encourage you to check… The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 39: …

Barb is getting ready to take her IBCLC exam in April and I have been busy doing other things besides creating a breastfeeding podcast! But we are back to making our breastfeeding podcast! I am being joined by my new intern, Jessica, who is going to continue my podcast journey. Don’t worry, Barb is not… The post All Things Breastfeeding Episode 40:…