Client Story Share: Social media positively influenced my breastfeeding journey.
Happy World Breastfeeding Week and National Breastfeeding/lactation month! This week we’re highlighting parents who are feeding their little ones human milk via their bodies. We know that an avenue of support for parents, aside from their IBCLC and care team, is social media. Many parents along with much evidence suggest that social media can influence, normalize, and provide resources for families; inherently, protecting and supporting the nursing journey. Hear from one of our clients on her experience on social media while bodyfeeding her son.
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Somewhere I think in my second trimester when COVID cases were ramping up and my only real connection to any sort of resources for the pregnancy was my OB’s office, I found myself scrolling through Instagram - looking for answers about how other soon-to-be parents were navigating the pandemic and to find the small details of pregnancy no one often talks about reflected in others experience. I found Dr. Marta Perez who helped break down common pregnancy complications like hypertension and kept me informed on some of the early research on COVID and pregnancy without being overwhelming.
Fast forward a few months, we’re taking my son home from the hospital - and unboxing my Spectra pump. I had started pumping (and triple feeding) in the hospital because my baby was jaundiced and needed supplementation. It's comical now but my postpartum nurse and I couldn't even figure out how to set up the hospital pump in the middle of the night. On top of that, my son's latch was inconsistent at best. I had ordered the pump (thanks health insurance!) a few weeks earlier not because I ever expected to use it at this stage but because I thought it’d be one I could do in advance of his arrival and cross off the list. I had taken a breastfeeding course through the hospital and intended to attempt breastfeeding (I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself to say it HAD to be done) but I was living with the assumption that the pump was going to stay in its box in our closet until I had to head back to work. (Side note: I’m still bitter about this - just looked back at my notes from the hospital BF course and the pumping slide is a JOKE, saying wait to pump until 3-6 weeks after nursing is established, it’s entitled “pumping for bottles and back to work” and has no actual substance about how to do the pumping.)
Oh how naive I was. For me, the pump played a critical role in my breastfeeding journey. My son’s first few weeks, we continued triple feeding (another thing I had never heard of on all my prep before birth). I started to find all kinds of tips and tricks through social media to help me. A lot centered around how to effectively use this machine that has become such a part of our lives -- and the lives of so many new moms I know. I found a few “EP” Instagram accounts (exclusive pumpers) and started to understand much more about how to use the letdown button to “ask my body” for more milk, what the settings on my pump actually meant and how to use them effectively. And oh, that the two sets of flange sizes that came with the pump might not actually be the right size for me. Not to mention introducing me to a plethora of other pump accessories and hacks that have helped me stay sane and extend my breastfeeding journey to this day.
Eventually, My son had a lip and tongue tie release and by two months we were able to drop his formula supplementation and now he is EBF - and getting so big! It was a tough road, I almost gave up on a few occasions, but I found, on Instagram and through friends and groups like those hosted by The Breastfeeding Center, people who were willing to say out loud a lot of the “quiet” feelings I was having - and share how they made it work for them.
Particularly, I found helpful:
1. Dr. Perez (OB), mentioned above, who has an Instagram as well as YouTube with great info about pregnancy complications, what to expect in a c/s, etc, etc. I can remember making my husband sit down and watch her youtube videos with me. They were in many ways better than the virtual birthing classes we took.
For context, we took a birthing class with http://dcbirthdoulas.com/ and then a c/s specific class with Virginia Hospital Center as I was deciding whether or not to do a scheduled c/s due to an underlying condition.
2. Karrie Locher - her highlight reel is full of great info from the perspective of a mom and rn. Lots of tips like how to turn a diaper into an ice pack or heat pack, what to bring in your hospital bag, dealing with clogged ducts, etc.
3/4 Pump Momma Pump and Be My Breast Friend - both of these women demo all kinds of pumping hacks like to store pump parts in the fridge through the day rather than washing between every session.
4. Big Little Feelings is a great resource for toddler moms with everything from picky eating to dropping the pac to tantrums. But what makes their account special is the mix of one part science and one part practicality. I think the same is so true of solid starts.