I have never been in a room with more lactating women than when I went to my friend Emily’s surprise 30th birthday party yesterday…half, yes half of the ladies in the room could provide breast milk if you needed it!
We had plenty of discussions surrounding the act of breastfeeding, but what I thought was the most interesting was hearing about the resources that are available to women who need help with breastfeeding.
These resources provide breastfeeding counselors (or lactation consultants depending on the source) that can give you instructions about breastfeeding, pumping your breast milk, milk storage, and bottle-feeding breast milk. They will even help you figure out why you may be experiencing breast pain or nipple soreness.
The following are great resources if you need help with breastfeeding:
La Leche league
International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners
703-560-7330
International Lactation Consultant Association
919-861-5577
All of these resources have information and help available in languages other than English too!
NOTE: There is a $150 yearly fee for standard membership with the International Lactation Consultant Association (the others appear to be free). Also, I went to the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners website and could not figure out how to get it in English (there is probably a way)!
If you have any questions about how to get to these resources, e-mail me at cate@getpharmacyadvice.com or you can comment on this article. I can always contact one of my lactating friends for help on breastfeeding too!
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First of all, I am happy to say that I am one of the women inspiring this article. As a breastfeeding woman who often happens to find myself surrounded by breastfeeding friends, breastfeeding naturally is often the topic of conversation. There are always questions that arise regarding which drugs are safe to take while nursing and there is the always popular debate about drinking alcohol while nursing. It would be wonderful to read an article regarding prescription and OTC drugs while nursing as well as alcohol use while nursing.
Thanks “Cate”;) and Nova