BFAR and Low Milk Supply Part III: 1 year later
Each August we celebrate #WorldBreastfeedingMonth. You may wonder, why does Breastfeeding get a whole month of celebration when it’s only a relatively short time in the parenting journey? Today Doulas of Capitol Hill owner/founder Emily Smith is going to share what she’s learned about breastfeeding in the past year of nursing her 4th baby with Low Milk Supply and why we should all celebrate.
Low Milk Supply Awareness Day August 5.png
Breastfeeding, chestfeeding, and pumping human milk is an act of love, no matter how small the amount, is worthy of our praise. I know many Low Milk Supply moms and those with IGT (Insufficient Glandular Tissue) often feel triggered or excluded from the larger breastfeeding community because they cannot, no matter how hard they try, produce a full milk supply. It’s estimated that between 4-15% of the population has physical barriers to making enough milk for exclusive feeding. We hear countless well-meaning but hurtful phrases like “all you need is support” or “did you try…?” I say Breastfeeding Month is for us, too. Your worth isn’t measured in drops.
If you got it, share it! On the other side of the spectrum, there are some people who make so much breastmilk that they have enough to feed someone else’s baby. This past year we were blessed by over a dozen other moms with donated milk. At least two people gave us over a thousand ounces of milk! And even though I never made enough milk to exclusively breastfeed, I was able to pump some medicinal quantities of milk for a friend who is fighting cancer! Breast milk contains stem cells and antibodies as well as a protein called HAMLET which may help her win her battle.
Image of pearl necklace made from human milk as a gift for a generous mother who donated thousands of ounces of milk to over a dozen families. Created by @TheMilkyMudra
3. Scientists tell usthat the gut health in the infant sets the stage for the person’s health for the rest of their life and breastfeeding shapes the microbiota in a positive way! For a person who may have low milk supply, the good news is that even small quantities of milk can help shape the health of the person into their adulthood.
4. Combo feeding is here to stay. And by combo feeding I mean some breastfeeding and some formula feeding. This is a perfectly reasonable compromise for someone who may not be able to or want to exclusively breastfeed. Yes, breastmilk is good for humans, but
new parents can let go of the idea that it has to be all or nothing!
5. The pandemic exacerbated and exposed our country’s inequalities and the economic need for a childcare bailout. The already stretched-thin resources for parents of infants and children is clearly hitting some households harder than others. I have been quite grateful for the privilege of working from home since the pandemic began as well as having a supportive partner who can share the parenting responsibilities. But for single parents and those struggling with balancing working from home, online-schooling, and breastfeeding a young human-being, the mental health of parents everywhere is in jeopardy. The answer has to be voting in leaders who have a better vision for paid family leave like the HEROES act which is being voted on now in Congress. Want to get involved? Fill out this form to tell your Senators you want them to support working families by providing paid sick leave and paid days in the HEROS act.
6. Feeding in public has been in the news for the past few years. Just 2 years ago breastfeeding in public finally became a protected right in all 50 states! I can say from my experience that it gets easier the more you do it. I was not nearly as confident nursing in public with my first baby as I was my fourth baby. Here was us participating in the Moms Uncovered: Nursing in Public in the DMV project which has been going on since 2015.
Image of two breastfeeding mothers wearing masks sitting on the sand with a lake in the background.
7. Nurse for comfort. Nurse for comfort. Nurse for comfort. If I could give new breastfeeding/chestfeeding parents one piece of advice it would be to remember that it’s not just about the milk. If you can get your baby to latch on and suck without pain, then offer that as often as you think of it. (and if there is pain, let’s schedule a visit with an IBCLC and find out why/fix it!) I feel confident that this was one thing that helped me to nurse past a year with all four of my babies, even with low milk supply. We nurse to soothe, we nurse to snuggle, we nurse because the baby needs a sip of something to drink (maybe it’s not about hunger but thirst!), we nurse to sleep. I know from experience now just how long the days are but just how short years go by. As the saying goes, babies don’t keep. So, enjoy the nursing snuggles as you work through the nursing struggles.
On left side of image is the arm, upper back and wavy reddish hair of Emily wearing a white, sleeveless shirt. She is looking down at her baby. In the center of the photo is an 8 month old baby white baby boy staring at the camera while nursing.
This is part III of Emily’s BFAR (Breastfeeding After Breast Reduction) story. To read Part I and Part II you’ll need to check out the blog posts from summer 2019.