When Amanda Brown gave birth to daughter Lois in April, she faced unexpected breastfeeding challenges when her newborn lost weight.
“I heard breastfeeding is the most unnatural, natural thing. Our bodies were designed and made to do that, but there can be a lot of complications, and it is hard.”
Brown credits Holland Hospital’s Breastfeeding Connections support group with helping turn things around.
“They can look at the latch and tell you, everything's good. She just needs more time. Very much their expertise was invaluable at that time.”
Specialists like lactation consultant Sarah Moelker offer guidance on common concerns like cluster feeding, milk supply and infant weight gain.
“We encourage them to come maybe when their baby's hungry, so we can assess their feeding goals, and help with babies latch, different positioning or anything that they're really struggling with.”
Moelker says peer connection is just as valuable as expert advice.
“Mothers encourage other mothers. They'll be sitting next to each other, and they will say, oh, I'm going through the same thing, this is what helped. A community is formed.”
Both women encourage others to tap into their local region’s network of breastfeeding and lactation support groups and resources
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