Lactivist Activist

Before my daughter was bor n, I knew I was going to breastfeed . Sometimes it feels so cliché to say that out loud; so many women say it. But for me, it actually wasn’t that I wanted to breastfeed, it was that I felt obligated to breastfeed. When my daughter was born, I was a board-certified pediatrician and in the middle of my fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine—I was doing an additional three years of training to become a bona fide “baby expert.” I told every single mother I spoke to that she should breastfeed or provide breast milk, so how could I possibly even consider not doing it myself? In the hospital after she was born, my daughter latched and we breastfed. Now, I certainly had my struggles, but comparatively they were small struggles—of course, I can only say that now, four years later. Trust me that at the time my molehills were the Himalayas, and I still distinctly remember “quitting” on four occasions before we actually weaned at 13.5 months . But looking b...

March 14, 2014 Written by Dr.   Bobby Ghaheri All too often, patients come to me after a diagnosis of tongue-tie (or lip-tie) has been made, thinking that a procedure is going to suddenly change the way their child breastfeeds. Rarely, especially in the very young child (<2 weeks of age), that is possible. The majority of the time, however, that is not the case. Because babies practice sucking skills in utero, a newborn with an intraoral restriction can have a latch that is quite abnormal the first time they try to nurse. If these restrictions are adequately addressed, the only thing that I provide the infant is the anatomical potential to have a normal latch. If that baby has habits that interfere with normal breastfeeding, little improvement will be initially shown. An example I often cite was inspired by Dr. Brian Palmer : If I ask you to train for a marathon for 3 months, but during that 3 month period, your shoes are tied tog ether, you will develop a specific ...

Forceful Let-down (Milk Ejection Reflex) & Oversupply By Kelly Bonyata, BS, IBCLC.....My most favorite breastfeeding resource online! I make sure every patient I consult with knows about her excellent website!...Enjoy the links within this blogpost to Kelly's website at kellymom.com Is forceful let-down a problem? Does your baby do any of these things? Gag, choke, strangle, gulp, gasp, cough while nursing as though the milk is coming too fast Pull off  the breast often while nursing Clamp down  on the nipple at let-down to slow the flow of milk Make a  clicking  sound when nursing Spit up  very often and/or tend to be very  gassy Periodically  refuse to nurse Dislike  comfort nursing  in general If some of this sounds familiar to you, you may have a  forceful let-down . This is often associated with too much milk (oversupply). Some mothers notice that the problems with fast letdown or oversupply don’t start un...

Dr. Ghaheri writes: I’m often asked what the harm is in doing a tongue release. “I mean, it’s just a little snip, right?” is what people say. Let’s go over some generic risks - pain, bleeding, infection, reattachment, damage to surrounding structures (tongue muscle, sublingual gland, salivary ducts, ranula) and lack of breastfeeding improvement are the most common risks cited. Some of them can become quite severe; for instance, bleeding - if the cut is made too deeply or too far off to the sides, significant bleeding can ensue. But there’s one risk that can be extreme in its effect that must be addressed. Too many practitioners perform releases without even knowing that it’s a possible outcome - feeding/oral aversion. Oral aversion is a clinical scenario where the infant has extreme reactions to anything happening around their mouths. This can include feeding in extreme cases - when this happens, often the only option is to admit the baby to the hospital and place a nasogas...

Why should you learn as much as you can about breastfeeding?  Especially before the baby is born? This blog will identify difficulties that mothers might not anticipate..... Below I've listed some common misconceptions new mommas often make: "Breastfeeding will just come naturally," There's no need for a breastfeeding class. "The Nurses and Lactation Consultants will teach me everything I need to know while in the hospital." "I know taking a class is important, but I ran out of time." "I have a specific Birth Plan written. My baby will be latching on within one hour after birth. "My pregnancy has been problem free, so I'm sure the delivery will be healthy and normal as well!" "Yes, we conceived through  IVF  due to 5 years of infertility. I have gestational diabetes, low thyroid hormones. The baby is measuring small and the  perinatologis...