Bellmore Lactation Sevices

“just pump and bring a bottle.”

oh absolutely. let me turn feeding my baby into a 12 step process so you don’t have to witness a b**b doing its literal job 😭

so instead of lifting my shirt and feeding my baby in approximately 2 seconds, you want me to:

pack my pump, pump parts, bottles, cooler, ice packs, milk storage bottles, and a separate bag for the dirty pump parts.

then when my baby gets hungry, i get to make a bottle, feed her, figure out where to store everything afterward, AND still pump because she got a bottle instead of nursing.

and that’s IF she even takes the bottle after doing all that work cause… ya know cause SHES EXCLUSIVELY BREASTFED AND DOESNT LIKE BOTTLES 🤦🏼‍♀️🥴

then after all that if i’m even successful i get to go home and wash all that s**t 🥰 YAY ME!!

or… and hear me out.

i could just lift my shirt and feed my baby 🥴

“just pump” is only a simple solution when you’ve never actually had to fu***ng pump 😂

I’m 44 years old, I have three adult children, and tomorrow my baby girl turns 6 months old. I breastfed all four of my children, and at this stage in my life, I’m realizing more and more how important it is for us breastfeeding mothers to know our rights and be willing to advocate for ourselves.

Recently, I had a situation with someone I care about deeply. She told me that her son was wondering if I planned on bringing a cover or blanket to feed my baby in their establishment.

My response was simple:

“Would you eat under a blanket?”

Then she told me, “I know a lady who breastfeeds in the bathroom.”

So I asked:

“Would she eat lunch in the bathroom?”

From there, I started hearing every possible reason why I should consider covering up. Maybe other patrons would be uncomfortable. Maybe my husband, who is currently serving in the Army, would be uncomfortable.

But the truth is, my baby eating should not be treated like something shameful, inappropriate, or something that needs to be hidden away.

I explained that breastfeeding is legally protected and that a mother has the right to breastfeed her child anywhere she is otherwise legally allowed to be. Feeding my baby is not indecent exposure, and I should not have to sit in a bathroom or place a blanket over my child just to make someone else more comfortable.

That conversation actually made something click for me.

I want to become more of an advocate for breastfeeding mothers.

I’ve even been thinking about printing out little cards explaining breastfeeding rights so that if someone ever has an issue with me nursing my daughter, I can simply hand them one and hopefully turn that uncomfortable moment into an educational one.

I’ve raised three children into adulthood, and now here I am raising another beautiful baby girl many years later. I’ve breastfed every one of them, and I refuse to feel ashamed for doing something so natural.

This photo is from a photoshoot I did for National Breastfeeding Month, and I’m so thankful to my amazing photographer for capturing this season of my life.

At 44, I’m still learning, still growing, still mothering, and now I’m finding my voice as an advocate too.

And if speaking up helps even one breastfeeding mama feel a little less afraid to feed her baby in public, then I’ll keep speaking. ❤️

🚨 New Study: increasing breastfeeding rates to 90% could save 72,300 noncommunicable disease deaths globally per year.

✨️ Formula feeding does carry risks, which is why breastfeeding on a population level is a public health concern. Individual benefit vs risk is different for each mother baby dyad.

This study also found increasing breastfeeding to 90% could prevent 10 million cases of diabetes across the lifespan of the cohort.

Of the delayed NCDSs, most delayed deaths were from ischaemic heart disease (43%) and stroke (33%), with cancer accounting for 18%.

Study authors interpreted the data to mean: Scaling up exclusive breastfeeding coverage could lead to benefits in reducing NCDs, complementing its established benefits for child mortality and early childhood development.

Essentially, this study added to the importance of breastfeeding on a global population level. Breastfeeding absolutely saves lives.

This study, published in the Lancet, focused on low and middle income countries. What does this mean for people in wealthier countries? Breastfeeding benefits still exist wherever you live and reduce the risk of developing cancer, diabetes, etc. However, in a wealthier country, you may have access to additional preventative measures and care, and access to medical care if you become sick.

Wherever you live, breastfeeding is the biological norm following a pregnancy

At the population level, breastfeeding reduces risk and has significant benefit.

As parents, we make decisions on individual levels.

For simple math, let's say on a population level the risk of allergies is 15 in 100 in not breastfeeding infants but in breastfeeding infants it's 5 in 100. Breastfeeding does not mean there's a 0% chance of allergies and not breastfeeding doesn't mean a 100% chance of allergies. Simply, when we look at large groups, more formula fed infants have allergies compared to breastfed infants.

All this said, breastfeeding is not easy. Low rates are often associated with lack of support, early return to work, birth complications, etc.

What support did you wish you had?

Hmmm

Who knew that breastfeeding positively impacts age of puberty? This 2026 analysis of growth data into adolescence from 613 children found that ≥3 months of exclusive breastfeeding delays puberty onset. Too-early puberty is linked later in life to insulin resistance, high blood pressure and BMI, and cardiac problems. Free download here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916526000171?via%3Dihub