Where to Get Breastfeeding Help

Find the Help and Support You Need

Many mothers fail to breastfeed because they do not ask for help, or they don’t have adequate support. It's important to realize that many doctors have minimal training in breastfeeding. It can be beneficial to ask for advice from someone whose specialty is lactation such as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). You may also want to consider talking with a La Leche League leader. They are volunteers who have been trained to help mothers with breastfeeding (and their help is free). One of the greatest things about them is that they offer a non-judgmental listening ear. They have a vast amount of excellent informational resources available to them, and they can offer you many helpful suggestions and share with you what has worked for other mothers. Some La Leche League leaders are also lactation consultants by profession.

One of the most encouraging sources of help and support can be other breastfeeding moms. You can greatly benefit by gleaning advice from mothers who have successfully breastfed their child and by sharing experiences with moms who are going through the same thing as you and your baby. La Leche League meetings provide such opportunities, plus with the added benefit of a mother trained to offer empathetic help and support (a LLL leader) guiding the meeting.

Find the help and support you need. Ask for help before you need it. Almost any struggle a mother has with breastfeeding or the idea of breastfeeding is worth striving to overcome, for bottles can never take the place of a mother nourishing her child at the breast. By breastfeeding, she gives her baby what he deserves and what his little body and heart were designed to need.

Helpful Links

La Leche League International At this website you can find answers to many of your breastfeeding questions.

La Leche League International E-Mail Breastfeeding Help Form

How to Find a La Leche League Leader Near You LLL leaders can answer questions about breastfeeding by phone or in person. They also can send you helpful LLL pamphlets in the mail. They lead groups which encourage mothers who have made the choice to breastfeed and women who are thinking about breastfeeding (pregnant moms are welcome!). At these meetings you will hear other mothers' advice and can give your own, too.

NursingMother.com "Breastfeeding information, support and attitude" This site has lots of helpful and encouraging information. Visit their All About Breastfeeding page. Especially helpful is their Help Me! Image Collection which provides visual help with latch-on, positioning, and more.

ParentsPlace.com Breastfeeding Articles and Resources Lots of great breastfeeding information. If you can't find what you are looking for here, you can "ask the lactation consultant" your question.

Ask the Breastfeeding Experts Archive--presented by Parent Soup.

Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia

Parent-L Breastfeeding Resources Page This website has good breastfeeding resources; Parent-L is an extended breastfeeding/attachment parenting list. The people on this list have a lot of personal experience and encouragement to offer.

Breastfeeding Answers Up-to-date breastfeeding information from Ameda/Egnell

Lact-Aid International, Inc. Lact-Aid® Nursing TrainerTM System: this "original breastfeeding supplementer & suckling aid"TM supplements baby at the breast to assure adequate nutrition when milk supply is low. It also provides oral suckling training to improve baby's coordination. Improved suckling stimulates the breast to assist lactation.

Notify the nursing staff that your baby is breastfeeding! If you are going to give birth in a hospital, print out this FREE sign to affix to your baby's bassinet.

My Helpful Hints for New Breastfeeding Mothers A few things I wish I had known.

Open wide!

Breastfeeding Advocacy

Children's Books with Positive Images of Breastfeeding
The Breastfeeding Advocacy Page
Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre Homepage
How to Make Breastfeeding Difficult, Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC; advice on what not to tell new breastfeeding mothers.
Breastfeeding: A Natural Way Brazilian Breastfeeding Page, in Portuguese and English.

Breastfeeding Index Why Breastfeed? Help! FAQ Nursing Toddlers Solids Bible & BF Bottles Nestle Boycott

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