We’re very pleased to share an abridged excerpt from the new book, The Virtual Breastfeeding Culture: Mother-to-Mother Support in the Digital Age, by Lara Audelo. Have you benefited from the power of online mom-to-mom breastfeeding support?  Tamara’s story below is a testament to this power in making breastfeeding work.   Tamara’s Story Somehow through a mix of [...]

Not sure how to take Motherlove products* to increase your milk supply?  Here are our answers to some common questions: How much of my Motherlove product should I take? Liquid Extracts Under 175 lbs: 1 ml – 4 times per day Over 175 lbs: 2 mls – 3 times per day Capsules Under 175 lbs: [...]

We’re very pleased to share a new podcast interview with Alyssa Schnell, author of Breastfeeding Without Birthing. Alyssa talked with Tanya about what it’ s like to breastfeed an adopted baby or a baby born via surrogacy.  They discussed inducing lactation, latching and attaching, and even the baby’s need to grieve the loss of their [...]

Ever heard of power pumping?  Some moms swear by it for increasing milk supply. Power pumping (also called cluster pumping) is pumping in a series of ten minute sessions – ten minutes pumping, ten minutes off – over the course of an hour, one session each day.  It’s typically used when mothers experience a temporary [...]

While stinging nettle can be painful to touch, it’s a plant that is very friendly to a mother’s milk supply! There are many species of nettle, but stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is probably the best known.  It’s native to much of the world, and has long been used as to increase milk supply, as a [...]

Have you heard about breast massage? It’s a traditional practice in Japan and some other Asian countries, and it’s used in a number of different forms here.  But what is it, and why do it?  And is it necessary? In Japan breast massage is practiced to increase breastmilk quantity and “quality.”  There, it is performed [...]

Have you heard the term “food desert?”  It means a place where people have poor access to stores selling healthy food.  As a result, residents of these communities are hard pressed to eat in a way that supports their health. Now let’s think about how that term applies to the first food, breastmilk.  In order [...]

At Motherlove we’ve created a number of different formulas to increase milk supply which meet varied and specific needs.* These formulas are carefully composed to address different causes of low milk supply and different situations.  They use combinations of herbs to balance and enhance their effects. Which ones is right for you?  Here’s our guide [...]

Most of us know alfalfa from our sandwiches and salads.  But this familiar plant is also useful in increasing milk supply! Alfalfa is a many-branched plant with square stems and leaves composed of three leaflets.  It has blue to purple flowers turn into spiral coiled seedpods.  Alfalfa grows to a height of up to three [...]

We know that many of you have had challenging breastfeeding experiences with your first babies.  And when it comes time to consider breastfeeding again, it can be a daunting prospect. That’s why we think you’ll enjoy this podcast with the author of Breastfeeding Take Two:  Successful Breastfeeding the Second Time Around.  Tanya talked with Stephanie [...]

Note:  If you’re an African American nursing mom living anywhere in the country and interested in donating breastmilk for this research, please contact Beth Punska at (413) 545-0813, or email her at epunska@vasci.umass.edu. More information is also at the study website.  If you’re not nursing, please consider joining the Love/Avon Army of Women, and select [...]

Blessed Thistle is an old friend to nursing mothers, so we thought we’d take a moment to share a bit about this versatile plant. Blessed Thistle (Cnicus Benedictus, also known as St. Benedict’s thistle, holy thistle or spotted thistle), may have gotten its name from its use as a tonic by monks in the Middle [...]

We think many of you will be captivated by our latest podcast on hormones as a cause of low milk supply. Tanya spoke with Lisa Marasco, co-author of The Breastfeeding Mother’s Guide to Making More Milk and expert on hormones and milk supply about PCOS, diabetes, thyroid, obesity, endocrine disruptors, and many other topics.  Lisa [...]

The plant world offers us many healing herbs, and you’ll find many of them in our salves and other products. But there are some herbs which are healing when used externally, but are not safe for ingestion.  One such herb is Comfrey. We often hear from mothers who have questions and concerns about the use [...]

Breastfeeding made the news quite a bit in 2012.  And this year also saw a number of advances in support for breastfeeding moms.  Here is our round up of the year’s highlights! Federal pumping law upheld.  The Affordable Health Care Act contained some important advances for nursing moms, and these were in jeopardy due to [...]

  It is not more surprising to be born twice than once; everything in nature is resurrection.  — Voltaire   Motherlove was born in Rist Canyon, in the mountains west of Fort Collins. The beginnings of the company and our family beginnings are one and the same. My mother started making the products we sell [...]

2012 saw a whole lot of celebrities talking about breastfeeding their babies and nursing in public.  We thought you’d enjoy this round-up of some of the more memorable celebrity moments! Breastfeeding had its first ever celebrity event promoting breastfeeding and Motherlove was proud to be a sponsor!  Held in partnership with Healthy Child, Healthy World, [...]

2012 brought a wealth of new research findings on breastfeeding! Check out our links below for a (partial) list of the latest evidence on the effects of breastfeeding on mothers’ and babies’ health, the constituents and functions of breastmilk, and new insights in breastfeeding practice and policy. Breastfeeding associated with these health outcomes in babies: [...]

If you’ve had shoulder, wrist, back or other muscle pain while breastfeeding, you’re probably not alone. Breastfeeding (as well as bottle feeding) requires that we log lots of hours in one or more position, and if those positions set us up for pain we’re sure to feel it! We asked, Debbie Roberts, an occupational therapist [...]

We’re very pleased to share an interview with Elyse April, author of the new children’s book, Ready to Wean:  The Return of the Dangling Red Earrings. This book is a welcome addition to the growing library of children’s books about breastfeeding, and is the only current one about the topic of weaning. Want to see [...]

Did you have IV fluids during your labor and birth?  Did your baby lose a lot of weight in the early days of breastfeeding?  Did your ankles look more like cankles? A growing body of research is making connections between these things, and it’s important that moms understand these connections for ourselves. Getting IV fluids [...]

Have you had a plugged duct? If so, you know that they can be painful and frustrating.  So we thought we’d share some of our favorite herbal remedies* to support the quick resolution of plugged ducts. But before we do, here are the basic recommendations for resolving plugged ducts: Empty the affected breast frequently by [...]

If your best friend were a pediatrician and lactation consultant and wrote down her favorite breastfeeding advice, what would it say? We think it might sounds like Dr. Jen’s Guide to Breastfeeding, a new book by the popular and always down-to-earth pediatrician Dr. Jenny Thomas.  Dr. Thomas is a practicing pediatrician and lactation consultant.  She [...]

Have you seen headlines like these? Genetically modified cows produce ‘human’ milk Goats to produce human milk Chinese produce human breast milk using genetically modified dairy cows The frequent news about cows and other mammals producing human milk is enough to make you wonder if it might be possible for scientists to replace you and [...]

From time to time we like to turn the spotlight on one of the herbs that we use in our products, such as goat’s rue, plantain, and fenugreek. Today, we’re focusing on a versatile herb that features in a number of our products:  fennel. You may know from eating the plant in a salad or [...]