Early formula and breast pump use

They don't really solve breastfeeding problems like people think they do

-from my new book, Evolving the Modern Breastfeeding Experience: Holistic Lactation Care in the First 100 Hours.

There are so many steps between recognizing a potential breastfeeding problem in the first 100 hours and having to actually circumvent breastfeeding by feeding formula.

Too often, new parents are not supported to hand express their milk to feed to baby, or they are not told that holding their baby skin to skin allows for more frequent, better breastfeeding sessions.

These are simple, gentle steps that can foster a calmer, less stressful response in the earliest hours and days of lactation.

A gentle reminder: formula is for when there isn’t any human milk available, and if you don’t teach hand expression, parents have to assume there’s no milk available and be forced to use formula if any problems come up.

In my new book, we explore ways to approach early breastfeeding and lactation care from a more reassuring posture, allowing new parents to absorb information better and to experience more breastfeeding, rather than setting it aside hastily and assuming they'll solve it later.

(Hint: often, they won't. And if you think that sending parents home pumping from the hospital is the best way to bridge this gap, you're wrong.

While that can be part of the process, it is by no means a guarantee that breastfeeding will EVER be attempted again.

Plus, without comprehensive information and close lactation support, many new parents will not be able to make pumping work for them efficiently.

Let’s not fool ourselves: early pumping is not the answer.)

If you work in any healthcare setting where you have contact with pregnant or newly postpartum people, I urge you to read my new book.

It will change how you think about and approach early lactation.

Remember: the mission isn't to "get" people to breastfeed. It's to provide them with all of the information and support they need to breastfeed.

Without it, breastfeeding isn't really an option for them.