Breastfeeding without birthing: A podcast on breastfeeding after adoption or surrogacy.

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 birth mother.  Alyssa shared her own experience nursing her adopted daughter.

You can listen to this interview using the player below, with Quicktime, or download it from our free iTunes store!

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Uncovering “First Food Deserts:” A podcast interview with Kimberly Seals Allers

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 for babies to have access to this all important food, their mothers need access to support for breastfeeding – everything from breastfeeding help to employer support to supportive attitudes about nursing in public.

Kimberly Seals Allers, award winning journalist and author, set out to investigate places where breastfeeding rates are low and infant mortality is high, to see if these places are in fact “first food deserts,” where the support necessary to make breastfeeding possible is lacking.

The result is a project called “Be First Food Friendly.“  Tanya Lieberman spoke with Kimberly about her research and the advocacy work that has resulted from it.

You can listen to this interview with the player below, listen with Quicktime, or download it at our free iTunes store!

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Worried about breastfeeding the second time around? Listen to our latest podcast.

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 Casemore about the complex emotional experience surrounding breastfeeding after a challenging prior experience.

The author, Stephanie Casemore, also answered some questions on this topic for a post on our blog.  It was a popular topic!

You can listen with the player below, with Quicktime, or download it at our free iTunes store!

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Low milk supply – could it be your hormones? A podcast interview with Lisa Marasco

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 answered a number of reader questions, as well.

You can listen to this podcast using the player below, listen with Quicktime, or download it at our free iTunes store!

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Infertility? Painful periods? Incontinence? Listen to our podcast on Maya Abdominal Therapy

Are you struggling with infertility?  Have painful periods or problems with postpartum incontinence?

You’ll want to listen to our latest podcast on Maya Abdominal Therapy.

Tanya spoke with Catherine Gregory, a certified practitioner of the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy.  She explained the origins of the therapy, how it can help women for anything from infertility, to painful menstruation, to incontinence and digestion.  She explained what it’s like to have the therapy, how women can learn to do it for themselves, and how to find a certified practitioner.

You can listen to the podcast with the player below, with Quicktime, or by downloading it from our free iTunes store.

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Do you leak when you cough, laugh, jump? Listen to our podcast on reversing incontinence after baby!

When you run, when you sneeze, when you lift something heavy…

Millions of women experience stress incontinence after having a baby.  And millions more will develop incontinence as they age.  But there’s a lot you can do about it, and our podcast discussion this month is all about that.

Tanya spoke with Tasha Mulligan, physical therapist and personal trainer, and creator of the Hab-It: Pelvic Floor DVD.  She’s passionate about helping women like herself rehab their pelvic floors and reverse stress incontinence.

They spoke about how the pelvic floor is related to incontinence, how to properly do Kegels, how rehabbing your pelvic floor is about much more than Kegels, and answered lots of your questions!

You can listen to this interview with the player below, listen with Quicktime, or download the podcast at our free iTunes store!

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Dr. Jen’s Guide to Breastfeeding: A podcast interview with Dr. Jenny Thomas

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 is the Chief of the Chapter Breastfeeding Coordinators for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Chair of the Wisconsin Breastfeeding Coalition, and a fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine.  In 2009 she won the AAP Special Achievement Award for work advocating for state law to protect nursing mothers.

Dr. Jenny talked with Tanya about why she chose to focus on breastfeeding, her “steps to breastfeeding success,”  why she gives out “got breastmilk” t-shirts to mothers who breastfeed for a year or more, how and why to talk with your pediatrician if you feel you’ve been given poor breastfeeding support, and more.

You can listen to the podcast using the player below, listen with Quicktime, or listen and download at our free iTunes store!

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How does tongue tie impact breastfeeding? A podcast interview with Catherine Watson Genna

How does having a tongue tie (restricted frenulum under the tongue) affect breastfeeding?

In this interview, Catherine Watson Genna, author of Supporting Sucking Skills in Breastfeeding Infants, discusses the types of tongue tie, what it’s like to nurse a baby with a tongue tie, what it’s like for the baby to have a tight frenulum clipped, and where to turn for help with a tongue tied baby.

In the interview Cathy mentioned two useful sites for mothers of tongue tied babies:

• Catherine Watson Genna’s pictures of tight frenula (“Is my baby tongue tied?”)
• Low Milk Supply’s list of health care providers who will perform fretonomies

You can listen to this interview using the player below, listen with Quicktime, or download it from our free iTunes store!

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Lyme disease in breastfeeding and pregancy: A podcast interview with Linda Smith

Lyme Disease is an serious infection which is on the move.  It’s spreading to new areas of the country, posing risks to mothers and babies in pregnancy and infancy, and raising questions about treatment during breastfeeding.

Tanya Lieberman spoke with Linda Smith, IBCLC about Lyme Disease in pregnancy and breastfeeding.  Linda spoke about the risks of untreated Lyme Disease, transmission from mothers to babies, symptoms of babies born infected with Lyme Disease, and whether mothers who are breastfeeding need to wean to be treated for Lyme Disease.

You can listen to the podcast using the player below, with Quicktime, or by downloading it at our free iTunes store!

Note:  This podcast is provided for educational purposes, and is not intended as medical advice.

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What’s wrong with those formula “gift” bags?

Were you given a formula “gift” bag as you left the hospital with your new baby?  Maybe by your pediatrician or even at an ultrasound clinic?

If so, you’ll want to listen to this podcast interview with Marsha Walker, IBCLC.  An expert on formula company marketing, Marsha explains why these bags harm breastfeeding, why they’re so important to formula companies, what hospitals are starting to do about them, and how you can get involved.

You can listen to the interview using the player below, with Quicktime, or by downloading or streaming it at Motherlove’s free iTunes store!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download