Common Breastfeeding Struggles, with Kathleen Kendall-Tackett

The Birthful Podcast: Episode #121

Breastfeeding may be perfectly natural, but it’s not perfectly easy. Many people think it will just happen, without realizing there’s a steep learning curve. So what are the most common breastfeeding struggles, and how can you navigating them? Kathleen Kendall-Tackett tells us more. Check it out!

To listen here, click the play button on the player above, or click the button below to listen on Apple Podcasts or Google Play.

What we talked about:

• Why can breastfeeding be so hard?
• How your birth impacts your breastfeeding
• Paying attention to stress!
• Doing the “milkshake” to help your milk come in
• What to do with a fussy, or sleepy baby
• Adjustments in milk production
• Having realistic expectations!
• What to do with sore or cracked nipples
• If breastfeeding is hurting…
• Blocked ducts, thrush and mastitis
• Tongue and lip ties
• Concerns about baby’s weight
• Are they really listening to you?
• The beauty of drop-in cafes
• How to keep the oxytocin flowing
• Going back to work

Additional resources and helpful links*:

• When Breastfeeding is Hard, from KellyMom.com
• 8 common breastfeeding struggles new mums need to know about, from Babyology
• 6 Common Breastfeeding Problems and How to Overcome Them, from Fit Pregnancy
• A Loving Weaning: How to Move Forward Together, by Winema Wilson Lanoue
• The Early Weeks of Breastfeeding (mini-book), excerpt from “Working and Breastfeeding Made Simple” by Nancy Mohrbacher
• Trouble Shooting Milk Production (mini-book), excerpt from “Working and Breastfeeding Made Simple” by Nancy Mohrbacher
• Back to Work for the Breastfeeding Mother (mini-book), excerpt from “Working and Breastfeeding Made Simple” by Nancy Mohrbacher
• Jiggle, roll, stroke – inducing milk letdown You Tube video of the technique (i.e. the “milkshake”)
• ILCA’s Find a Lactation Consultant Directory
• NaturalBreastfeeding.com, has a great video on biological nurturing (aka laid-back breastfeeding)
• Free to Breastfeed: Voices of Black Mothers, by Jeanine Valrie Logan
• BreastfeedingLaw.com

Related podcast episodes:

• Tongue and Lip Ties, with Dianne Cassidy, (episode # 13)
• 11 Breastfeeding Need-to-Knows, with Robin Kaplan, (episode # 79)
• Breastfeeding & Going Back to Work, with Nancy Mohrbacher, (episode # 26)

Courtesy of Dr. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett

[mark]About Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, PhD, IBCLC, FAPA[/mark]

Dr. Kendall-Tackett is a health psychologist and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and the Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Praeclarus Press, a small press specializing in women’s health. Dr. Kendall-Tackett is Editor-in-Chief of two peer-reviewed journals: Clinical Lactation and Psychological Trauma. She is Fellow of the American Psychological Association in Health and Trauma Psychology, Past President of the APA Division of Trauma Psychology, and a member of the APA’s Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest. Dr. Kendall-Tackett specializes in women’s-health research including breastfeeding, depression, trauma, and health psychology, and has won many awards for her work including the 2017 President’s Award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Trauma Psychology from the American Psychological Association’s Division 56. Dr. Kendall-Tackett has authored more than 420 articles or chapters, and has recently completed her 35th book, The Phantom of the Opera: A Social History of the World’s Most Popular Musical. Her most recent books include: Depression in New Mothers, 3rd Edition (2017, Routledge UK), Women’s Mental Health Across the Lifespan (2017, Routledge US, with Lesia Ruglass), Psychology of Trauma 101 (2015, Springer, with Lesia Ruglass) and The Science of Mother-Infant Sleep (2014, Praeclarus, with Wendy Middlemiss). Her websites are UppityScienceChick.comuppitysciencechick, BreastfeedingMadeSimple.com, KathleenKendall-Tackett.com, and PraeclarusPress.com.

You can also find her scholarly articles on her Google Scholar link

*May contain affiliate links. This means that I may get a small percentage of what you buy, and that is one of the ways of helping me continue to do this podcast – Thank you!

Like the music on the podcast?:

Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).

Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).