Honey, breastfeeding can be the most natural act for a mother to experience but for many families lifestyle circumstances and social determinants make the journey more difficult to achieve a mother's goals. Finding and building your birth team during your pregnancy secures the support and education which builds the confidence needed going into your breastfeeding journey.
Many moms will say during our prenatal consults that they want to feel confident in breastfeeding but they just don't know how and need the education to continue
Honey, I'm here.
When families have better access to support and education it makes the progress of their postpartum recovery smoother. My approach with moms is pretty simple...you are enough. I began this journey as a postpartum doula and saw the need for more skilled breastfeeding care and support through their duration but I evidence shows the way a person births greatly impacts and influences the breastfeeding and postpartum experience.
Imagine having a big sister by your side through your entire pregnancy, birth and beyond.
That's me, honey...
Remember, you and your baby are not the problem, it's the way society treats mothers and their babies that's the problem. Mothers are going to have to learn to stick up for themselves and their babies too. That's where I come in....building that maternal confidence in you. - Jada Metcalf
I can assist you through any lifestyle circumstance
NO Paid maternity leave!
My Approach: Many parents do not receive PAID leave when they have a baby and some return to work as early as two weeks. Let’s tailor a plan that cam make the transition back to work more manageable.
My boss is making me feel uncomfortable about my pumping breaks!
My Approach: Let’s discuss breastfeeding laws, what’s legal and how to inform HR about your future pumping plans and how to file grievances.
My family is not very supportive of my breastfeeding journey.
My approach: Let’s have a family breastfeeding education class so that the ones closest to you understand HOW breastfeeding works and how their encouragement and support can help you meet your goals.
Unsupportive hospital staff
My approach: Many times hospital staff are overwhelmed and do not have the time to sit with a new family for up to 2-3 hours to teach you how to breastfeed. Outsourcing private lactation services especially an IBCLC can assist you with breastfeeding initiation. COVID makes visitations near impossible but virtual support can give you the confidence and the evidence based education needed to give your baby their first drops of milk whether by breast chest or donor milk through virtual services.
Breastfeeding makes me feel some sort of way and it makes me uncomfortable to feed from the breast.
My approach: Let’s chat about your feelings toward breastfeeding both positive and negative. Society has conditioned us to see breasts as only sexual organs. We have references to local resources to help you recognize and unpack previous reservations or traumatic experiences you may have had and educate you on being more comfortable with latching your baby or tailor an exclusively pumping care plan for your breastfeeding journey should you choose otherwise.
My friends had a hard time breastfeeding so they gave up.
My approach. Honey, this is your breastfeeding experience and no one else can set your goals for you. With skilled lactation care, evidence based information and ongoing support many mothers are often able to meet and surpass their breastfeeding goals with confidence.
What if I don’t make enough milk?
My approach: Confidence is key in your commitment to breastfeed. When mothers take education classes before their baby arrives and find skilled lactation care they quickly find their worries diminish the further they get along in their journey particularly if breastfeeding initiation goes well. If there is a medical need for your baby to supplement or resides out of my scope of practice, I can refer you to awesome local IBCLCs.
Honey, I've heard it all. But together we can develop a plan that is tailored to your lifestyle to make your breast and chest feeding and postpartum experience a joyful one.
How can I help you achieve your goals, honey?
******This blog post is not meant to replace the advice of your medical provider. It is simply meant to keep families abreast of evidence based information to make better informed decisions.
Jada Metcalf | is a mom of two, Certified Breastfeeding Specialist, trained Birth and Postpartum Doula, ROSE Community Transformer, Fertility Doula and Community Health Worker in training, 2021 IBLCE candidate and a postpartum wellness business owner of the Milk + Honey Co. Health information on this site is based on peer-reviewed medical journals, textbooks and highly respected health organizations and institutions including the CDC (Center for Disease Control), AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics), WHO ( World Health Organization), NIH (National Institute of Health), ABM (Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine) Breastfeeding and Human Lactation, 5th Edition, Wambach Spencer)