Breastfeeding Matters by La Leche League GB

Kathleen is a health psychologist, IBCLC, researcher, speaker, and the CEO of Praeclarus Press, a small publishing company dedicated to women’s health.
She is internationally recognized for her work on breastfeeding, maternal mental health, trauma, and depression.
Kathleen has authored and edited numerous books and peer-reviewed articles exploring how early trauma, inflammation, and stress affect mothers’ mental and physical health — and how breastfeeding can play a protective role.
Her work bridges research and real-life mothering and parenting, to support parents to better understand the complex biological and emotional systems at play in the postpartum period.
We hear about Kathleen’s connection with La Leche League and how her own breastfeeding journey and involvement with the charity supported her professional direction.
Our conversation explores the following themes:
- The connection between breastfeeding and a mother’s emotional well-being
- ⁠The role oxytocin plays in mood regulation and stress buffering
- ⁠How common messaging around sleep and infant crying may unintentionally increase stress for mothers
A holistic model of support offered by LLL is discussed and the listeners are encouraged to reach out to LLLGB if breastfeeding support and information is needed.
LLLGB is a charity that offers mother to mother and parent to parent support for breastfeeding and chestfeeding. The charity was founded by seven mothers in 1956 and since then has accumulated a wealth of knowledge that is now supported by the latest scientific evidence and research.
Episode Notes:
For breastfeeding support and information please visit:
La Leche League GB – Friendly breastfeeding support from pregnancy onwardsFive ways to help when breastfeeding doesn’t go as expected – La Leche League GB
From Dr. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett:
Articles
Cry It Out or Burnout: The Hidden Cost of Sleep Training (Part 1) - The Science Chick Report: Evidence You Can Use for Real-World Women's Health | Podcast on Spotify

Dr Wendy Jones, MBE is a highly respected UK pharmacist and expert in the safety of medications during breastfeeding. With a career spanning over four decades, Wendy has combined her professional expertise with her personal passion for breastfeeding support.
In 1997, she helped found the Breastfeeding Network’s Drugsin Breastfeeding Service – a helpline that now supports thousands of families and healthcare professionals each year with evidence-based information.
In our episode Wendy shares with us her experience andperspective on breastfeeding support in the UK over the span of 40+ years.
We explore persistent misconceptions about medications and breastfeeding along with common cultural myths that are hard to shift.
We hear about supporting breastfeeding through chronic conditions and how individualised and compassionate care is needed for every mother and baby dyad.
A holistic model of support offered by LLL is discussed andthe listeners are encouraged to reach out to LLLGB if breastfeeding support and information is needed.
LLLGB is a charity that offers mother to mother and parentto parent support for breastfeeding and chestfeeding. The charity was founded by seven mothers in 1956 and since then has accumulated a wealth of knowledge that is now supported by the latest scientific evidence and research.
Episode Notes: For breastfeeding support and informationplease visit:
www.laleche.org.uk
https://laleche.org.uk/breastfeeding-and-a-mothers-diet-myths-and-facts/
https://laleche.org.uk/supporting-a-breastfeeding-mother/
https://laleche.org.uk/health-professionals/
https://breastfeeding-and-medication.co.uk/

To support our charity please consider donating or becoming a subscribing member via these links:
Make a donation – La Leche League GBJoin LLLGBIf you are a Healthcare Professional, we have a special offering for you:
Healthcare Professionals – La Leche League GBhttps://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/drugs-factsheets/

LLL Leaders offer support with the normal course of breastfeeding. To enable us to support parents to investigate more complex issues and challenges we are supported by the LLLGB Panel of Professional Advisors. The panel is made up of a body of experts in breastfeeding and birth research and practice.
In this episode we are excited to be speaking to one of ourprofessional advisors – Dr Victoria Thomas.
Vicky qualified from the University of Newcastle upon Tynein 2004 and completed her paediatric training in Birmingham and across the North East of England. Since 2015 she has been a Consultant Gastroenterologist at Newcastle’s Great North
Children’s Hospital. Vicky specialises in Coeliac disease,infant feeding, growth and nutrition, including feeding in complex health conditions.
Vicky’s passion for equity in breastfeeding support has ledher to train as a LLL Leader with LLL Collective.
We explore how Vicky’s own nursing journey shaped herunderstanding of breastfeeding and informed her work as a medical professional supporting breastfeeding families.
Vicky talks to us about her project of supporting her colleagues in the healthcare profession with breastfeeding and how she applies the skills she learned as a breastfeeding counsellor in her day-to-day medical practice.
A holistic model of support offered by LLL is discussed andthe listeners are encouraged to reach out to LLLGB if breastfeeding support and information is needed.
LLLGB is a charity that offers mother to mother and parentto parent support for breastfeeding and chestfeeding. The charity was founded by seven mothers in 1956 and since then has accumulated a wealth of knowledge that is now supported by the latest scientific evidence and research.
Episode Notes:
For breastfeeding support and information please visit: www.laleche.org.uk
https://laleche.org.uk/health-professionals/
MiLC:
https://www.instagram.com/medics_lactationcommunity
https://www.facebook.com/share/14XaFX7Rkv8/?mibextid=wwXIfr
HIFN https://www.hifn.org/
Breastfeeding the Brave https://breastfeedingthebrave.com/
https://breastfeedingfordoctors.com/who-we-are/
Visiting the paediatrician cartoon:
 https://www.hedgerhumor.com/nursing-mom-at-the-doctor/

In this episode we are exploring the thoughts and feelingsthat can arise around breastfeeding when our journeys don’t go as planned.Research suggests that many parents find themselves stopping nursing earlier than they had hoped. And all too often, the grief that follows is overlooked orunsupported.
If we are told that breastfeeding is natural, nothing prepares us for any challenges we may face.
If we are told that breastfeeding is supposed to be painfulor that it does not work for many women, we may doubt our ability to do it.
If we are supported at every step of the way, we can find thestrength to keep going if we choose to.
This episodes dives deeper into why so many new parents areshocked by the challenges of breastfeeding and the complex feelings that can follow. We discuss how the intensity of our biological drive to breastfeed reaches our very core.
Breastfeeding grief and trauma matters. Feeling dismissed bywell-meaning supporters who are trying to cheer us up can actually intensify our grief or sends us to a place where we can’t process it.
Trust her if she tells you it matters and support her all theway.
A holistic model of support offered by LLL is discussed andthe listeners are encouraged to reach out to LLLGB if breastfeeding support and information is needed.
LLLGB is a charity that offers mother to mother and parentto parent support for breastfeeding and chestfeeding. The charity was founded by seven mothers in 1956 and since then has accumulated a wealth of knowledge that is now supported by the latest scientific evidence and research.
Episode Notes:
For breastfeeding support and information please visit: www.laleche.org.uk
https://laleche.org.uk/five-ways-help-breastfeeding-doesnt-go-expected/
https://laleche.org.uk/getting-breastfeeding-on-track-after-a-difficult-start-the-3-keeps/
https://laleche.org.uk/my-baby-needs-more-milk/
https://laleche.org.uk/weaning-from-supplements/
https://laleche.org.uk/jaundice/
https://www.lllgbbooks.co.uk/store/p224/WhyBFGriefTraumaMatter.html
https://www.lllgbbooks.co.uk/store/p76/BreastfeedingTakeTwo.html
https://professoramybrown.co.uk/breastfeeding-grief

In this episode we are honoured to share three stories ofbreastfeeding mothers who for different reasons had to triple-feed their babies in the early weeks after birth. We hope that their stories  can help our listeners who are also facing the challenges of triple-feeding.
While ‘triple-feeding’  is not an official medical term – it’s widely used in the breastfeeding world to indicate that the baby needs to receive nourishment in a number of different ways, e.g directly at the breast, via expressed milk,donor milk and formula.
Today we are exploring how it may feel to have breastfeeding problems early on or to be faced with a triple-feeding plan.
It may feel as if it’s ‘all gone wrong’ and the dreams youhad about feeding your baby are in ruins. With conflicting information and lack of support your confidence about breastfeeding your baby may seem compromised.Fortunately, babies are very adaptable and resilient, and so are their parents! With time, patience and, if necessary, skilled help, it is almost always possible to get feeding back on track after a difficult start. It is most certainly always possible to have a close, warm and happy feeding relationship with your baby – even if it might look different from what you had expected.
‘Three Keeps’ is the concept that has been widely shared inLa Leche League from our Charity’s inception. It focuses not only on expressing milk to feed baby, but also on the connection between mother and baby and howprotecting and encouraging skin to skin between baby and mother can help get breastfeeding back on track after a challenging start.
A holistic model of support offered by LLL is discussed andthe listeners are encouraged to reach out to LLLGB if breastfeeding support and information is needed.
LLLGB is a charity that offers mother to mother and parentto parent support for breastfeeding and chestfeeding. The charity was founded by seven mothers in 1956 and since then has accumulated a wealth of knowledge that is now supported by the latest scientific evidence and research.
Episode Notes:
For breastfeeding support and informationplease visit: www.laleche.org.uk
https://laleche.org.uk/getting-breastfeeding-on-track-after-a-difficult-start-the-3-keeps/
https://laleche.org.uk/five-ways-help-breastfeeding-doesnt-go-expected/
https://laleche.org.uk/my-baby-needs-more-milk/
https://laleche.org.uk/weaning-from-supplements/
https://laleche.org.uk/whats-big-deal-skin-skin/
https://laleche.org.uk/jaundice/
https://laleche.org.uk/feeding-late-preterm-babies/