This week I’m joined from Sydney in Australia, by midwife Jessica Baker to talk about breastfeeding her two daughters and the grief and mental health impact when feeding doesn’t go to plan. Jessica describes anticipating difficulty due to inverted nipples, having a home birth with Vada followed by special care admission, early nipple-shield use, severe engorgement, and missed support because staff assumed she was confident as a midwife. After a tongue and lip tie release with a laser, Vada’s feeding deteriorated, weight loss followed, and Jessica moved onto top-ups and then exclusive pumping, experiencing depression and long-lasting grief despite producing abundant milk. With Olive, early breastfeeding began well but when Olive’s feeding stalled, it led to panic, PTSD symptoms and then EMDR therapy, and medication. Jessica is still feeding two-year-old Olive from one side, having established “booby manners” and realistic expectations around toddler feeding and weaning.

You can follow Jessica’s new business on Instagram @‌cub.andkin

My picture book on how breastfeeding journeys end, The Story of Jessie’s Milkies, is available from Amazon here - The Story of Jessie's Milkies. In the UK, you can also buy it from The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London. Other book shops and libraries can source a copy from Ingram Spark publishing.

You can also get 10% off my books on supporting breastfeeding beyond six months and supporting the transition from breastfeeding at the Jessica Kingsley press website, by going to https://bit.ly/JKPbooks and using the code MMPE10 at checkout.

Follow me on Instagram @emmapickettibclc or find out more on my website www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com

This podcast is presented by Emma Pickett IBCLC, and produced by Emily Crosby Media.

This week we’re celebrating the stories of the Bradford Project, a massive art, poetry and storytelling project led by artist Lisa Creagh in the Bradford area. Alongside Lisa, I’m joined by two participants, Aamta Waheed and Reena Kler, to talk about their breastfeeding experiences and how the project has helped them to understand their mothering journey. We’ll also hear poems from Hannah, Sonia and Sophie, and an extract from the Holding Time podcast, featuring Aisha.

You can find out more about the project at https://linktr.ee/holdingtimeproject and on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtMCVY_Nuktw4w_hd6n54xqkEv3V0utk
You can follow Aamta on Instagram @‌aamtawaheedart

My picture book on how breastfeeding journeys end, The Story of Jessie’s Milkies, is available from Amazon here - The Story of Jessie's Milkies. In the UK, you can also buy it from The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London. Other book shops and libraries can source a copy from Ingram Spark publishing.

You can also get 10% off my books on supporting breastfeeding beyond six months and supporting the transition from breastfeeding at the Jessica Kingsley press website, by going to https://bit.ly/JKPbooks and using the code MMPE10 at checkout.

Follow me on Instagram @emmapickettibclc or find out more on my website www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com

This podcast is presented by Emma Pickett IBCLC, and produced by Emily Crosby Media.

This week I’m talking to Liverpool-based public health doctor Alice Lacey-Campbell about tandem feeding, breastfeeding an older child, and breastfeeding with type 1 diabetes. Alice shares how her nearly five-year-old, Asha, breastfeeds only occasionally now after a “false stop,” often for emotional regulation, and describes dry nursing through pregnancy when her milk dried up around nine weeks. We discuss why antenatal colostrum expression is recommended for diabetes, and Alice’s techniques. Alice recounts difficult inductions and emergency C-sections, early latching problems and tongue-tie with Asha, and a smoother breastfeeding establishment with five-month-old Kaida after a brief NICU stay, plus accidental gentle night-weaning and plans to return to work when Kaida is one.

My picture book on how breastfeeding journeys end, The Story of Jessie’s Milkies, is available from Amazon here - The Story of Jessie's Milkies. In the UK, you can also buy it from The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London. Other book shops and libraries can source a copy from Ingram Spark publishing.

You can also get 10% off my books on supporting breastfeeding beyond six months and supporting the transition from breastfeeding at the Jessica Kingsley press website, by going to https://bit.ly/JKPbooks and using the code MMPE10 at checkout.

Follow me on Instagram @emmapickettibclc or find out more on my website www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com

This podcast is presented by Emma Pickett IBCLC, and produced by Emily Crosby Media.