It seems so simple

What scripts can we flip to get more people educated about breastfeeding before they have a baby to feed?

Something is missing in modern parenthood. Parents find a lot of messaging in their lives but not a lot of actual information about how to implement things.

Social media is an easy structure on which to place blame, but truly all media holds some responsibility. Cherry-picked research articles framed in ways to grab attention, advertising space offered to anyone who can pay, mis- and dis-information peddlers protected by free speech - these all play a role in how parents are constantly shown bits and pieces of facts and myths, broken up and dissociated from a larger framework that would give any of them context.

Commercial influencers and companies say whatever they need to say to earn money. It might be based on fact but missing large pieces of relevant perspective. It could be based on myths that persist despite being scientifically refuted, or simply presented in a confusing way. (Here I am thinking specifically of infant formula manufacturers telling parents that breastfeeding causes mental health issues and formula does not - one of those things that could seem simple if you aren’t given all of the information.)

A long time ago I wrote on a piece of paper that “nothing means anything by itself.” I go back to that thought all the time. Perspective and context are absolutely everything. Nothing is simple. Even if you have the type of personality which sees the world as black or white, A or B, good or bad, you are still taking things into account when you do that.

I spend a lot of time thinking about what would make things better for parents who want to breastfeed* their babies. How could we simplify things so that they had the information they needed before they even need it?

The problem is that we can’t simplify it. It’s complex. It’s nuanced and personal and related to so many things that it isn’t possible to distill everything down to the simplest messages that will resonate for everyone.

Tell me a universal “truth” about lactation and I’ll show you an example of an exception. We try and try to create messages that are positive and informative and useful for all, and in the end there’s always at least one negative response OR a person who tells you that it didn’t work that way for them.

One of the concepts I teach my students and interns is exactly this: there’s no one way to solve any lactation problem your client brings you. If you think there is, you are not providing client-centered care.

A messaging ecosystem I built recently revolves around these 2 tenets: breastfeeding is important, and breastfeeding help is available.

I stand behind these statements because I believe they are helpful to many, but I know for a fact that there are exceptions. Breastfeeding IS important, but there are cases where it is less important or holds more risk than not breastfeeding. Help IS available to many folks, but unfortunately, it is not always accessible, affordable, of high quality, culturally-matched, etc.

In the end, though, these 2 statements make for a solid foundation on which I can make many points of conversation. They allow me to expand in ways that I need to expand in specific settings.

It is never simple to talk about breastfeeding. The longer I am involved in activities which require me to do so, the more I feel that in my bones. One of the most popular social media posts I have ever made is here:

It’s 100% true. No matter who is involved in a conversation about lactation, they are involved on a personal level. Think you’re talking to someone who has no horse in that race? Chances are, someone they love has one. When you talk about breastfeeding, people find meaning far beyond your intentions.

We have a responsibility to be sensitive to that, but more importantly, those of us who have been privileged to become educated about it have a responsibility to share our knowledge in ways that can improve things for others.

Ultimately, that means that people will be sharing their knowledge in a wide variety of ways, and sometimes those ways won’t resonate with us personally. We just have to remember that they will resonate with others. This is never more obvious than during events like National Breastfeeding Month and World Breastfeeding Week.

We will all do well - including me - to show grace and continue to elevate all voices which endeavour to share wisdom and knowledge about breastfeeding in nuanced and complex ways, even if their tone or wording feels uncomfortable to us.

I also think that the responsibility to share our knowledge also shows up in the ways we choose to serve families. If it has been on your heart and mind to teach prenatal breastfeeding education, I’m feeling that lately, too.

Because I have recently been working with lactation folks who want to rediscover or redefine their purpose in this work, the topic of prenatal education keeps surfacing.

When you know your specific reasons, objectives, and the people you most want to serve as a lactation care provider, developing a prenatal breastfeeding course is a natural fit.

While hospitals and obstetric practices may offer their patients online education about breastfeeding, it is inherently generic and basic.

Breastfeeding isn’t generic or basic, and as previously established, it’s not simple. Why should a prenatal breastfeeding course be basic?

You could use your specific talents, knowledge, background, cultural reality, language, past career perspective, or whatever is really unique about YOU to develop a prenatal breastfeeding course that targets your intended audience.

We don’t have to just pick what kind of course to teach from topics like “getting started” or “how to combine breastfeeding with work.” With the technology available to us, we can create really special courses and find exactly the right people to teach. And we don’t have to limit ourselves to teaching only pregnant folks, either - we can develop supportive courses that are available on-demand to new parents with babies and toddlers that educate them on the current realities of their feeding journeys.

Of course, educating folks about breastfeeding helps them understand the importance of getting help if they need it, it brings them into peer support groups, and it builds up those relationships we most need in our lactation practices. It helps parents feel good about how they are being proactive and getting prepared. It helps them get answers to questions that cause them to doubt themselves or their choices. It helps, period.

The theme of National Breastfeeding Month this year is “This Is Our Why.” What is your why, and how could you develop a way of teaching and supporting breastfeeding families that honors your why?