The majority of mothers are aware of the importance of eating nutritious foods while they are expecting a baby.  Assuming that you ate an adequate diet while you were pregnant, you can produce plenty of milk for your baby by keeping up this motivation and making sure that you continue your healthy eating patterns during lactation. While you should attempt …

  Did you know that the Women, Infant, and Children Nutrition Program (WIC) serves nearly half of all infants born in the US? That’s right! HALF of our infant population receives WIC services. If you haven’t been a WIC client yourself, you may not know that the program isn’t only for infants. WIC serves pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants, and …

  When I was pregnant with my first child in 2006, I went to a routine appointment and my doctor asked if she could see my nipples. ‘Huh?’ I thought, ‘What does that have to do with pregnancy?’ I lifted my shirt and pulled my bra across to show my right nipple to her. “Perfect gumdrop nipples,” she said. Before …

Katie Graham Anderson So we all know the benefits of breastfeeding. Let’s talk about the risks, shall we? 1. Risk of a harassment from perfect strangers. Often with sexual overtones. 2. The violation of the right to breastfeed where ever a woman might lawfully be by an employee of a given establishment, including being asked to cover up, asked to …

Ask Anne… Question: I’m due in two months, and I’m afraid I won’t have enough milk, because I had a hard time with my milk production when I went back to work after my first baby was born. I’m considering having my placenta encapsulated, but it’s expensive and I’m not sure we can afford it. Will ‘placenta encapsulation’ increase my …

  Babywearing as the Biological Norm My focus as a mother supporter, aka doula, is with the needs of the mother. For when we address the needs of the mother we by default address the needs of the baby.  So what is in a sling for the mother? Many years ago a history professor made an off the cuff remark …

Ask Anne… Question: How common is it for babies to be sensitive to what a nursing mom is eating? Also, what is the usual time frame for a baby to get gassy after mom has eaten something “wrong?” Answer: Substances from the foods you eat can appear in your milk anywhere from 1-24 hours after ingestion, with the average being …

Webster’s Dictionary defines weaning as “accustoming a young mammal to take food otherwise than by nursing.” Although this event may be very cut and dried in the animal world, for humans the process of weaning is much more complicated, but only because we make it that way. Weaning your baby is part of the natural breastfeeding experience. It doesn’t have …