Breastfeeding is about food and comfort. There’s no need make women and babies do it under ponchos or in toilets. There is nothing untoward or sexual about it. I know we live in a chilly cimate, presided over by decades of sexual repression, so we’re not used to it, but a possible flash of boob is not going to harm any of us. It’s probably less than you’d see in town of a weekend night, or in any magazine you care to pick up. It’s time to get over it!

Lovely post here.

Well, it’s incredibly similar to this one, except she does it first. I have ideas, then I go along and find she’s already done them. That Alyson Hannigan post for example. I found the clip and went looking for a photo, and it turned out that one came from her post about the clip, that she’d already written.

Ah well. It’s the thought that counts, right?

Here’s a nice list of positive steps you can take to get breastfeeding off to a good start in hospital though.

I think we would recommend all these, and if you pop back to the main site, we’ll furnish you with the phone numbers!

Ok, ok. I am really only posting this because of my deep seated Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan status, but somehow the thought of Alison Hannigan being a mommy just delights me.

This is a little lighthearted interview about how breastfeeding has kept her skinny. It doesn’t work for all of us (sigh) but we can aspire!

And Buffy had a baby last month too… but sadly no bfing celeb gossip is available on the Slayer. We want more bfing celeb gossip, do we not? I loved Angelina Jolie’s photos. Is it too late to post them? They were so pretty.

If anyone knows a breastfeeding celebrity, can you hook us up with a photo? Or whip out your long range lense, perhaps…

She introduces Friends of Breastfeeding with her own experience of trying to breastfeed, and what she perceived as her own failure.

It is that sentiment , that I’ve read and heard countless times, that led me to be involved in the group.

It is such a cruel sentence, I think, for women to feel they have failed their babies. It’s blatantly untrue: I  believe they have fought for them. It is they who have been failed by a system that is inexpert, underfunded, undereducated etc. etc.

Women in Ireland and their babies deserve professionals who will dedicate themselves to helping every woman  enjoy breastfeeding success, however they define it.

How can you help yourself and others?

• Gather information before you have your baby. 
• Set up a support system before you encounter a problem (that is, before the birth) – experienced friends, cuidiu counsellor, La Leche volunteer, lactation consultant. This way, making a phonecall is no effort.
• Prioritise your own and the babies needs for the labour and early days: not your visitors or family’s.
• Skin to skin contact as soon as possible (my sister in law’s midwives made sure the baby had skin to skin contact with his DAD when she was being cared for after her section! Genius!)
• Ask for help the minute you feel pain or uncertainty in the hospital. Persevering means finding solutions, not suffering through pain.
• Trust your instinct. If the midwives’ advice seems conflicting, or isn’t working for you, ask for the lactation consultant sooner rather than later. This is your right, don’t be scared to insist on it.

Share, readers. What helped you get feeding off to a good start?

Siobhan runs Mumstown, a one stop info site for parents.

But something  tells me not to start the natural birth rant here.

Tempting as it is.

Suffice it to say that it makes sense to me that disrupting the natural flow of chemicals the body produces in labour must have a knock on effect on how well breastfeeding flows.

And, in breastfeeding class, I learned that the amount of fluid you take in if you have an epidural causes your breasts to be more engorged, and in turn this tends to delay the milk coming in. This can shake people’s confidence, babies can feed a lot, the lure of the top up bottle comes into play, and all that can follow from that.

However, I do know plenty of people who had epidurals and breastfeed happily, who had sections and still their babies latched on like pros. So it’s not a given.

I do think, though, that what is vital is that doctors and midwives become aware of the possible impact of the use of these drugs on breastfeeding. They must be prepared for the possible difficulties mothers  might encounter, and know how to counter and compensate for them. And women should be appraised of any possible effects the drugs may have on breastfeeding so they know what they’re dealing with.

I told her I was making cupcakes, and she asked if they were for anything special. I told her about the breastfeeding group, and our photos shoot. We were on Gchat and she didn’t respond for a while. I was suddenly worried that breastfeeding might be a sore spot for her, and I’d maybe inadvertently offended her by mentioning the group (you know it’s a minefield out there).

But her response was both reassuring and fabulous:I’m in  a breastfeeding group! We’re called Tits Out in Brampton!

We at Friends of Breastfeeding did consider a similar approach, but we figured Ireland might not quite be ready for Tits Out in Balbriggan.

Have a read of this, ladies.

You might have read the article in the Irish Times this week, by Isabe Conroy, about the Swedish Economics student who is pumping every three hours in an effort to stimulate man-lactation. Those Swedes, eh?

“I am going to have to pull out the pump sometimes during lectures but it really doesn’t bother me if it makes people uncomfortable. If they have issues with it, that’s their problem,” he declared.

Snigger.

The article touches on the way people, women in particular, might respond to the idea of men doing the breastfeeding. Unsurprisingly, many people are disturbed by the thought. A salient point made though, is that this would be significant for stay at home fathers, as plenty of women are unable to breastfeeding because of jobs, illness, or lactation failure.

The article ends by offering the suggestion of Swedish Professor Werner, who recommends men use their nipples not as milk providers,  but in the same comforting breastfeeding role as women do. You know, in the moment, when the soother isn’t readily available.

Oh, I don’t know. I’d love to hear your responses. I do remember feeling great delight when my wolverine of a baby daughter got hungry fast and latched on to her Dad’s nipple through his t shirt (I was equally pleased the time he got hemmorhoids, but that’s another story). Men do seem to be growing more endowed in the moob department these days. But my husband’s chest is very hairy. And he sprays his deodorant across it, blech.  I don’t really like to think of my sweet, soft faced little darlings snuggling up against all that. Look at the alarm on that child’s face. Sure, he could be just looking for his mother and saying ‘This beardy Jeremy irons-alike is not my father, what’s going on?!’ But I could also see it saying ‘Why has Dad waxed? Something’s not right here, Ma, come and get me!’

The possessive mother in me wants to be proud of having something I alone could give my children. Their dad’s milk could never be as good as mine! Despite feelings of resentment I may also have harboured while sitting under a constantly feeding newborn while Daddy swanned off out the door for the next ten hours. To drink alcohol…

So what do you think? Would you share, or hand over the task?

Hi Everyone!
Friends of Breastfeeding is now getting ready to fire on all
cylinders!
We have a number of initiatives in the pipelines. We are organising a
photoshoot for 12th September, a whole range of events for National
Breastfeeding Week and we will also be attending the Big into Baby
Show at the end of October.

Now all we need for this to be a huge success is YOU! We are looking
for a number of people to help out with various tasks on our three
subcommittees, PR, Projects and Fundraising.

We will gladly welcome new members to the group and even if you only
have half an hour a week, we can use your help. If you are interested
in joining, or just finding out more about what you can do email us at
friendsofbreastfeeding@yahoo.ie or go to www.friendsofbreastfeeding.ie.
Thanks