Esther has been a professional doula for 25 years in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States and has been involved with birth and postpartum work since she was 18 years old. She studied Midwifery, Anthropology and Philosophy and has found them all to be pretty handy in life. She is a member of the SFDoulaGroup and offers consultation in addition to doula services.
Lori will be sharing her personal experience when she nursed her first baby, in public for the very first time. If you would like to share your “My first time” story with our listeners, go tocontact me page and send us your story. We will share your story on our website and perhaps read it out loud on a show – with your permission, of course!
Fiona shares her journey into becoming an IBCLC. Like so many of us who came into this profession, it was the birth of her first son that sparked her interest in helping other mothers breastfeed. When she was in the UK, Fiona worked in maternal health. The standard of care at that time was for moms to breastfeed for 6 weeks. She was living in Toronto at the time she had her first baby. The expectation was for her to breastfeed for 6 weeks. Fiona shares in detail how she broke that mold, went on to breastfeed longer than expected and increased her breastfeeding knowledge as she had more babies and grew into motherhood. Fiona gives very detailed information on the roles and titles of the various breastfeeding helpers and how she has been able to clearly define the roles to mothers she meets. We also learn how a chance meeting with a representative from GOLD Online led to her current position with GOLD.
Not knowing anyone who breastfed their baby, or never having seen another woman breastfeed her baby, I had no frame of reference , no role models in the breastfeeding arena. There was 1 book on the library shelf and it was The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, written by a group of woman from La Leche League. I did not get this book until after my daughter was born. So, the breastfeeding class was the only place I received information on preparing for breastfeeding and what to expect when my baby was born. There were many days and nights that were filled with painful breastfeeding and major sleep deprivation. I learned a lot along the way. Humor was helpful. My baby getting bigger was helpful. It took us a while, but soon breastfeeding became enjoyable and easy. Through my experience I learned to work hard to not judge another mother for the choices she makes. We are all doing the best we can. I choose to focus on education and support.
Come along with us on Tressa’s breastfeeding Journey. She shares with us personal stories of the early days of breastfeeding her first baby, breastfeeding during a pregnancy, what life was like tandem nursing, night weaning her toddler and child – led weaning with both her girls. Tressa really gives us a window into her early mothering days and humbles us as she shares her personal story of going through postpartum depression and how she helped herself get through it.
All About Breastfeeding, the place where the girls hang out has been a dream of mine for quite a long time. I may not have had the exact title in mind, however, I did know exactly what my goals for this show was long before the very first episode. I am happy to say that each Season I am able to meet my goals and provide you, my faithful listeners with an incredible amount of breastfeeding education... all FREE to you. During our few weeks break here at All About Breastfeeding, you will get to hear some of the earlier shows I recorded. Todays show is the very first show in which I talk about my Why. Why did I want to host this show and what was my motivation. While the show has evolved, my reasons for doing so have never waivered. I started off with a small group of people listening in just a few states, to now thousands of soon to be moms, new mothers, moms of 1,2 or more children. Lactation professionals and others in the field of lactation and maternal health, along with journalists and book authors and physicians and midwives. They are all listening to the show, which is now heard in well over 100 countries. I stopped counting a few months ago and I think this will be one of my jobs to update this info during my break. We will be back on October 30th with Season 7 and some brand new interviews. For right now, please enjoy the very first show I brought to you.
Each birth is unique. I had different pregnancies and 3 very different births. Some labors are fast and intense, as was my 3rd labor and some are very long, drawn-out events perhaps lasting for several days from start to finish. Some moms make firm decisions ahead of time to have a medicated birth and to their dismay get to the hospital too late for any pain medication as their labor was quicker then they thought it would be. Other moms plan a homebirth and need to be transferred during labor as they needed the assistance of medical intervention and the skills of a physician who could offer a surgical birth.