Exclusive pumping is absolutely still breastfeeding. Don’t compare yourself to other Mums! Your output is not the only thing that matters. Remember you are providing your baby with amazing nutrition and you are doing great job. You are doing what is right for you and that is all that matters.

Breastmilk supply in the vast majority of women is abundant and in perfect amounts for your growing baby. However, in some cases, low milk supply can be an issue and close investigation is needed to determine the cause and implement remedies. It can be categorized into two categories, there could be an initial low milk supply due to the birth or events surrounding the birth or there can be true low milk supply and it is important to distinguish between the two. Initial low milk supply can usually be managed and corrected with some hard work and close monitoring but true low supply due to physiological reasons may need ongoing supplementation. The sooner initial low supply is caught and corrected the better the long-term supply outcomes.

SO HOW DOES ANTENATAL COLOSTRUM COLLECTION HELP US?

Well, it does a number of things. It helps women get to know their body, learn about their breasts and start stimulating their breast tissue, glands and ducts. The colostrum that is collected can be saved, frozen and taken to the hospital to be given to the baby if required. It can also help to kickstart your breasts so if anything does cause a delay, then we have given everything a little pre birth boost. It can also prevent unnecessary formula use if we have it in our back pocket, so for that reason, I do recommend giving it a go.

In April of this year I created a petition to increase paid parental leave from 18 weeks to 26 weeks and I gave a number of evidence based recommendations to justify the increase based on best practice for breastfeeding (because that’s what I do and is my passion!). I also sent letters to various ministers and was told by the then social services minister that the 2009 Productivity Commission Report that was the basis for the decision around 18 weeks. I’ve since gone through the entire 585 page report shows evidence on so many levels that 6 months is the optimal length of time for parental leave, not just for breastfeeding outcomes, but overall child development, child attachment and maternal and parenting outcomes. The petition closed on 27/4/22 with 8,461 signatures and since then the government has changed hands so I am writing to the new ministers with the below information.

I have copied and pasted key highlights below that support 26 weeks parental leave.

After talking to my virtual Prenatal Mums and New Mums groups last week I wanted to take a minute to remind everyone of 4 important messages that are so easy to forget.

Given everything that is happening in the world at the moment, there is a lot of interest from pregnant women in making the switch to home birth.

What a roller coaster life has been lately! Are you ok? Are you realising how much you love contact with other people or relishing in the down / home time? Maybe it's a combo of both.

It's been really nice spending extra time with my kiddos but I will admit, I personally am not cut out to be a 24/7 stay at home Mum.

A beautiful Mum popped into the shop this week, we got chatting and she also has a 4 month old baby who had just had his vaccinations. I asked her how things we going and she revealed she was upset because she had just spoken to the GP about how she was feeling like maybe she didn’t have as much milk as once before and the baby was waking up a little more than usual.

I started thinking about our villages and our self care post birth in the period known as the 4th trimester or the first 3 months post birth.

I am notoriously independent and a Type A organiser. So asking for help isn’t something I am good at and I am just as bad at accepting offers of help.

When my first child was born, I was determined that not much was going to change. That I could still do it all. And to be honest, I still did - to my own detriment.