Breast Health Over A Lifetime
Go ahead, Google it.
Search for “breast health” and see what comes up.
See what I’m saying?
It’s nearly all breast cancer, a little breastfeeding, and nothing really about breast health and literally everything else a person with breasts might need to know about them.
As a lactation consultant, I’m fascinated with breastfeeding and lactation, and I wanted to know so much more about the organ system that requires 20-30% of the body’s working energy on a day-to-day basis - as much as the brain.
I already knew a lot about how they work during lactation, but I definitely didn’t feel like I knew enough to really answer questions about breasts outside of the lactation period.
I’ve had the most incredible opportunity to really explore my questions and thoughts about breast health over the last months, and now what I’ve learned is contained in a comprehensive course.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: this work was really hard.
As much as I wanted to do it and I wanted the results, I have some difficulty with focus and the level of concentration I needed for reading the scientific research articles was next-level.
I’m distracted by all of the holiday things going on right now, I’m not good at setting boundaries, and I didn’t take time off my regular job to do this.
What I DO love is finding ways to rekindle our collective will to advocate for breastfeeding, for health, for babies and children, for mothers and parents.
This course is ALL of that.
We can’t just sit quietly and let women’s capacity to breastfeed be compromised by a lack of knowledge in the medical profession.
We won’t be able to let someone else worry about the health outcomes of climate change when we know how influential they are in breast health and the health of women and children.
And just like we aren’t quiet when we hear people spreading myths about how to make more milk by eating cookies and drinking expensive drinks, we are not going to be able to stand around ignoring when people spread fatalistic and inaccurate information about breast cancer risks.
When we teach about breast health to the one lactating individual in front of us, we are actually caring for their baby, their other children, their mother, their sisters, and their granddaughters.
We are poised to use the BEAUTIFUL OPPORTUNITY of lactation and its lovely connections with intrinsic motivation to better oneself for the betterment of their child to teach them other important things they need to know about how breasts develop, change, and function over the lifespan.
Though this course was written from the perspective of a lactation professional, everyone is welcome!
A thorough explanation of the fundamentals of human lactation is incorporated, and there’s so much more to learn and consider, like exposures and infections over the lifetime, breast density, normal breast development over the lifespan - there’s a lot of ground to cover.
Come along with us as we explore innovative ways to protect, preserve, and prioritize breastfeeding and human milk feeding in our world - the time is now to elevate our voices!
P.S. One of my biggest takeaways: we need to advocate a lot more about protecting breasts from injuries caused by occupational hazards and sports!
Breast injury is common, under-reported, under-treated, and largely left out of the larger conversation about breast health.
Breast injuries may present symptoms immediately OR between 3 weeks and 4 years after the event!!
A history of breast injury can really complicate screening for breast cancer, causing extra worry and emotional strain and requiring additional imaging and painful diagnostic tests.
