Breastfeeding Bloggers Offer Warm Encouragement

The worldwide village of the internet is a vital source of community for breastfeeding moms. A bevy of blogs provide all kinds of support – from “been there” tips, to passionate advocacy, to gentle humor.

by Christina DiMartino

Breastfeeding mothers are a diverse but united group. Just look at the number of popular breastfeeding blogs that have surfaced around the globe.

A mom’s refuge

Judy P. Masucci, Ph.D., is a mother and president of A Mother’s Boutique and blog, Mommy’s News & Views. She told Parent USA City that there is not one all-inclusive handbook for telling moms how to breastfeed.

“Many things moms will experience are different than what would be in a book anyway,” she stresses. “Each baby is different and each situation is different. I find that new moms usually just need a little reassurance that they are doing it right, and to know that following their gut instinct is usually exactly what they need to do.”

Masucci says blogs are a great resource for parenting childen because a new mom can be up any hour of the day or night.

“She can search for answers to her questions and find articles that will help answer them,” she adds. “Blogs also let her know that she isn’t the only with this question or that problem. Many times knowing that someone else is going through the same thing is exactly what a new mom needs.

“I also accept questions from moms on my blog. If they can’t find exactly what they are looking for, they can write to me and I will find the answer for them.”

Mommy’s News & Views was launched in 2008, and since then it has expanded to provide a vast amount of information on parenting, including product reviews and information, photos and even some humor.

“Sometimes moms just want a little humor or some pretty photos to look at,” says Masucci. “They aren’t always looking for answers to questions. We also have a section where moms write in and share their stories. These posts are a great way to learn what other moms are experiencing.”

Just as there’s not one book that’s just right for every breastfeeding mom, there’s no one blog that serves all needs. That also means that there’s a wonderful variety of points of view available on the web. Here’s just a sample of what Parent USA City found.

Comprehensive information

●  Andi Silverman’s blog, Mama Knows Breast, is a wealth of information on lactating, including current news, products, connections to professionals for help, links to other blogs and sites, and even poems for breastfeeding moms.

●  The Beautiful Letdown provides a list of commonsense benefits to breastfeeding, such as losing weight, saving money, and creating less environmental waste. Category options on the site offer a wide range of breastfeeding topics, including breastfeeding laws.

Useful articles

●  Basic science. On the Attachment Parenting International blog, API Speaks, blogger Dionna offers “The Composition of Breastmilk,” noting that breast milk really is the original super food. The site, which promotes attachment parenting worldwide, also offers advice on how fathers can help with breastfeeding.

●  Tips for twiddly babies. In “5 Ideas For Getting Your Nursling To Stop Twiddling,” on Breastfeeding Moms Unite blog, Melodie (she uses only her first name) offers her own personal story, noting that one of the reasons nurslings twiddle is because they love to be close to us. “Breastfeeding is not just a form of nutrition, it’s a form of love,” she says.

●  Defying backlash. Author and social media director Katie Allison Granju takes offense to what she calls “breastfeeding backlash” in the media and among some mothers. In “Confessions of a Proud Breastfeeding Zealot” on Babble blog, she states that the message of this backlash can best be summed up, “The health benefits of breastfeeding have been wildly exaggerated by a bunch of weird and nasty breastfeeding zealots who get their kicks from harassing bottle-feeding mothers in an attempt to make them feel guilty.”

Granju says one of the reasons she is passionate about breastfeeding is because, “Despite some of the criticisms about the ‘exaggerated health benefits’ now being made as part of this whole breastfeeding backlash, the amount of well-accepted, peer-reviewed evidence that breastfeeding is one of the most important factors affecting infant mortality and morbidity continues to grow.”

Help when you’ve never breastfed before

●  Breastfeeding Mums states that many mothers don’t even think about breastfeeding until the birth of their baby. They assume they’ll know how to breastfeed since it’s nature’s way, and so they don’t even consider preparing for breastfeeding during their pregnancy. As a result, at the first sign of breastfeeding problems many mothers stop. Multiple links on the blog will help you get to the root of the problems you are facing in breastfeeding and offer sound support.

●  On The Labor of Love blog site, Katie Rose’s “Breastfeeding Tips for New Mothers” is swathed with great advice for moms starting out their breastfeeding experience. Check out her ideas on putting your baby to the breast as early as possible, offering frequent feedings, practicing good positioning, and nipple relief.

Fun stuff

Some blogs offer comforting humor to breastfeeding moms. Across the pond in the U.K., The Mothers Milk Marketing Board offers up a bingo card designed by Ruth Moss. Lactating moms get bingo when they have received all of the comments on the postcard, such as “If we give him formula at night he’ll sleep longer,” and “Your baby should be on fewer feeds by now.”

More breastfeeding blogs:

• Baby Ready – “helping families prepare their hearts and homes for baby”
• Best for Babes – “to help moms beat the ‘Booby Traps’ – the cultural & institutional barriers that prevent moms from achieving their personal breastfeeding goal”
• Blacktating – “breastfeeding news and views from a mom of color”

Read on:

• The Breastfeeding Book, by Martha and William Sears
• The Food of Love:  a Common Sense Guide for the Rest of Us, by Kate Evans

Watch:

• What’s So Special About Breastmilk Anyway? – a quick, funny, and informative slide show animated from cartoons in Kate Evans’ The Food of Love book

 

Christina DiMartino has been a freelance and assignment writer since 1985. She is a researcher, interviewer, writer, editor, and manuscript collaborator with a repertoire of clients from around the world. 

© Photo by lostinbids