[Breastfeeding] 11 Need-to-Knows

Today we’ll be taking on 11 lactation need-to-knows! Consider these lactation mini-facts as possible bumps-in-the-road that can be dealt with fairly easily with a bit of information and determination, but that can otherwise potentially derail your nursing relationship. These include damaged nipples, baby weight loss, nipple shape, breast behavior, colostrum, hindmilk and foremilk, D-MER, and more. Robin Kaplan tells us more. Check it out.

What we talked about:

• Should lactating parents expect pain when nursing?
• Why do cracked/blistered/bleeding nipples happen, and what to do about them?
• Normal baby weight loss during the first days, and what IV fluids have to do with it
• What you should know about the shape of your nipples?
• What is colostrum, and how much does your baby really need?
• How to know if your baby is getting enough.
• What you need to know about hindmilk vs. foremilk; or, should you even care?
• The different states your breast will go through
• Does breast size have anything to do with ability to lactate?
• The “super-boob” vs. “the underachiever”… and what to do if one breast is a lot bigger than the other
• What is D-MER (Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex), how often does it happen, and what can be done about it?

Related resources*:

• Infographic on Breast Storage Capacity, by Nancy Mohrbacher
• The DIY breastfeeding YouTube channel that Robin mentioned on the show
• Foremilk vs. Hindmilk: The Unnecessary Controversy article mentioned by Robin
• Reverse Pressure Softening, by Jean Cotterman
• D-MER.org (Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex)

Related Birthful episodes:

• [Breastfeeding] Figuring Out How to Suck, Swallow, and Breathe
• What Are Tongue and Lip Ties?
• [Breastfeeding] When You Have a Low Milk Supply

Courtesy of Robin Kaplan

About Robin Kaplan

Robin Kaplan is an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and owner of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center.

Robin completed her lactation consultant training and certification at University of California, San Diego in 2009. She also holds a Masters in Education from UCLA, a multiple-subjects teacher credential from UCLA, and a BA in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis.

In addition to her role as a lactation consultant, Robin has spent the last 3 years working in Breastfeeding Advocacy. In 2013, she created the San Diego Nursing in Public Task Force to educate her local community about the California laws that protect a mother’s right to breastfeed in public and to provide support and guidance to mothers who have faced harassment or discrimination for breastfeeding in public.  In 2016, Robin started the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides subsidized lactation consultations for low-income families and scholarships/internships for culturally diverse women to become lactation educators and IBCLCs.

Connect with Robin through her website, on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.