Sharing Insights and Info
Christy Jo Hendricks, IBCLC, RLC, CD(DONA), CAPPA CLE Faculty shares thoughts and suggestions on breastfeeding education, formula marketing, doula work and the IBCLC Profession. If you have a blog you would like to submit for the Birthing, Bonding and Breastfeeding page, please email Christy Jo at BBBPublishing@msn.com.
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No one should ever feel shamed or attacked for their feeding choice, but no one should feel silenced for sharing truth either. This is not a battle among mothers, this is a battle against large conglomerates that are forcing society to accept the status quo. Be nice, share evidence-based information, and stay sensitive. Seems simple. Read More
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Newborns and Milk Supply--in Perfect Harmony
The newborn’s suck is exactly paced and the mother’s milk compliments the demand. Since the newborn has a strong desire to suck, he may engage in this ritual with few breaks. Respecting this inborn reflex results in an appreciation for the infant's feeding pattern and mom's supply. Colostrum is very thick and is coaxed from the breast slowly; precisely the reason constant sucking is needed to extract the liquid gold. It is also crucial to the baby’s small stomach capacity that the fuel he is collecting is deposited in very small amounts. The consequences of a fast-flowing liquid filling the stomach with a few sucks would be catastrophic. A newborn would not be able to manage the volume if milk was plentiful immediately after delivery. Read More
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The Role of the Birth Doula
Joining a family for the birth experience is both a great honor and a great responsibility. Doulas enter the most amazing place as they simultaneously witness and support in a miracle. It is sometimes difficult to focus on the tasks and not get caught up in being merely a spectator in the blooming of a birth, but the focus comes with the realization that the goal is to support the family. A doula plays a crucial part in how the birth will be remembered and how breastfeeding will be initiated. Read More
Make "Doula" a Household Name
What is a doula? How many times has a doula been asked that question? It is a profession rarely highlighted in career choices and fewer people understand the role of a doula than that of a dog walker. The services that a doula performs are fundamental to birth, yet even Micorsoft places a red, squiggly line under the word, expressing ignorance of the vocation. Read More
Ads Target Breastfeeding Moms
The national increase in breastfeeding rates has caused the formula companies to stand up and take notice. What is great news for moms, babies and society could prove disastrous for formula companies and their stock holders--unless they can grab part of the growing market. Read More
Mom Enough
If experts in our field could have looked past the photograph and into the teaching opportunity, we could have educated the world and created better parenting resources for new moms, but the photograph debate waged on. We attacked the mom, reporter, article, and each other. It was like the media in general from Time to talk shows, (along with some frenzied individuals) picked up stones and began to throw them at the Attachment Parenting and breastfeeding crowd, and in return we gathered those rocks, glanced at the mob, but chose to throw the rocks at each other! Read More
Formula Companies Try to Equate Imitations to the Real Thing
This post is about advertising, marketing and deception. We as educators, public health professionals, moms, citizens, consumers, tax payers, etc. have to demand honesty in advertising--especially from the formula companies. These companies use inferior ingredients, cut corners in production, and then lie about its value, causing customers to flock to the registers with complete peace of mind. Read More
Formula Marketing Exposed
The 2010 Pediatric Products Handbook by Mead Johnson boasted of a "new" formula. What is this brand new miracle in a can? It's a sleep aid for children. Well, it doesn't read exactly like that, but the actual words under "Product Features" are even more frightening. I photographed the page, because as skeptical as I am, I would want to see it for myself and I believe my readers deserve the same consideration. Read More
Infant Formula Marketing
Scientists, doctors, nurses, medical professionals--all agree and validate the fact that breastmilk is not only the ideal food for infants, but also that children can experience sickness and disease if it is withheld from them, yet, mothers still turn to formula as a legitimate alternative to breastmilk. Families are targeted by an industry that spends millions of dollars annually to advertise. Read More
Thoughts on the IBLCE Exam
We all are too familiar with the scenario of someone passing the Exam only to fail at giving good advice and support to a dyad. I had a pretty good idea of what the test would be like from my personal experience, but my goal was never to teach to the test. I fulfilled my role as an instructor and IBCLC by preparing individuals to help mothers reach their breastfeeding goals. Although I understood that Monday would come, I was more interested in the Tuesday-Sunday help my students would be giving following Monday! Read More
Communication and Counseling Skills
I cannot stress the importance of good communication. Lactation Consultants must be able to effectively communicate and counsel moms, dads, couples, families, pediatricians, obstetricians, communities, neighbors, etc...We have an agenda, like so many other professionals do, and how we communicate it will often cause others to accept or reject our message. Read More
Normal Growth and Development for the Breastfed Baby
As I discuss the "normal" growth and development I have to remind everyone that every child and circumstance must be independently evaluated and guidelines are just that...guides, not concrete walls that determine absolutes...Read More
Pharmacology and Breastfeeding
As a general rule, many medications are compatible with breastfeeding, but selecting the "safest" medications is advisable. The aveolar epithelium of the breast is a lipid barrier that is most permeable in the first few days of lactation (when colostrum is produced). The transfer of water-soluble drugs and ions is inhibited by the hydorphobic barrier. Water-soluble materials pass through pores in the basement membrane and para cellular spaces. Drugs that have low lipid solubility and are non ionized will diminish its excretion into milk. Read More
Biochemistry of Human Milk
Breastmilk, unlike formula is a living organism. When one looks at breastmilk under a microscope there is plenty of movement. Contrast that with formula, where the petri dish reveals a stagnant state. Formula is dead. It cannot change to meet the needs of a particular infant. It does not change during a feed. In fact, the first drop given to an infant at day one is mirrored in the last drop he receives at one year. Read More
Positioning and Latch
When infants and moms are left skin-to-skin following birth, often spontaneous breastfeeding occurs within and hour to 90 minutes. No panic, no readjusting, no mandatory pillows...just baby and breast in proximity. Remind mom to stay in her comfortable, "laid back" position and place baby vertically on her body. We see a "baby crawl" and latch. Read More
Physiology and Milk Transfer
Ascertaining that the infant actually breast feeds is very crucial to the role of the Lactation Consultant. It sounds pretty elementary, but it is amazing how many infants wind up with jaundice or failure to thrive due to mismanagement of breastfeeding. It's not actually breastfeeding that is the problem in most of these cases, but starvation. Read More
Mommy Feeds Baby by Christy Jo Hendricks
I went to college to become a teacher. I loved writing and children, so the most appropriate goal seemed to be to earn a teaching degree with an emphasis on English. I taught and administrated for seventeen years and loved every minute of it. Since I was the head of the English Department, I also got to oversee the Yearbook Class and Journalism Club. I learned about photography and layout design by attending conferences and training I took my students to. I was learning skills and techniques right along side of them and didn't know how valuable this information would be years later when I wanted to author a book. Read More
Breast Anatomy and Physiology
I am amazed at the history of how we originally learned, evaluated and understood the mammary gland. In case some of you haven't heard the lecture on the breast anatomy's history, I'll give a quick synopsis. Medical professionals, biology students, lactation experts--all based all their information, decisions and future studies based on breast anatomy research that occurred over 160 years ago. Read More
Principles of Lactation Management
This is a really broad topic and one people will see as an introductory to Lactation. Often this provides an overview for many aspects of lactation. One course I looked up on Principles of Lactation Management stated, "Participants will be able to counsel families about the benefits of breastfeeding, assist the mother in managing common breastfeeding problems, make appropriate referrals, teach breastfeeding classes, prepare breastfeeding materials, and support breastfeeding through breastfeeding friendly policies and procedures." Which confirms my theory that this is almost all-encompassing. Read More
Resources for Lactation Consultants
There are a lot of really good resources for Lactation Consultants available. I started the study schedule with this topic since some of the other topics will require you to search articles, read journals, refer moms to others when a problem is outside of your scope of practice. Read More
Becoming an IBCLC
My journey was both an individual one and a collaborative effort. That may sound like an oxymoron, but as I explain the process, it will become clear. I now desire to help others on their path to certification. The process is more confusing than difficult. Read More
