Milkworks

January 1, 2012

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

Breastfeeding is a simple biological process. A mother gives birth. This change in her hormones causes her breasts to make milk. Her baby shows feeding cues and latches to her breast, suckles vigorously and removes milk. More milk is made each time her baby wakes and feeds.

Ah, if it were only so simple! Ask many mothers and they will tell you a different story. The reality is that breastfeeding is a natural process, but it presents uniquely for each mother and baby. No instruction manual can do it justice. 

Mothers used to learn how to breastfeed from their mothers, grandmothers, sisters and friends. In the year 2012, we now have nurses, doctors, midwives, breastfeeding educators and lactation consultants to round out the support team and make sure mothers get accurate information and guidance.

December 14, 2011

By Sara Dodder Furr, LLLL, IBCLC

When MilkWorks opened in February of 2001, we all knew it was important to provide a way for moms to get together regularly, to support and encourage each other. We envisioned a group where moms could talk freely, bring their babies and just be themselves in a non-judgmental atmosphere. We wanted to provide a safe place where moms could breastfeed without having to worry about offending someone. We wanted moms to come regardless of whether or not they were having breastfeeding difficulties. We hoped it would become a place where moms who’d come in for consults could go to get support from others, beyond clinical care.  

Eventually, the group became known as MomTalk. In the beginning, I led the group once a week and for at least a month, I sat on the couch and really got to know Cathy and her baby Spencer. Cathy was our first consult client at MilkWorks and she and Spencer taught me a lot about really listening to a new mom. Cathy’s quiet confidence grew over time and as other moms started coming to MomTalk, Cathy welcomed them and gave them the support. This was exactly what we had hoped for! As each mom came to the group, perhaps she was initially seeking support for herself, perhaps she had urgent questions or problems. As the group facilitator, I provided resources and information and sometimes shared my own experience, especially since my daughter Nora was a nursling at the time and was my “demo model” in the group. Fortunately, she was an easy-going baby and, as an older nursling (she was nine months old when MilkWorks opened), she was eager to demonstrate her breastfeeding skills to Spencer and the other babies who came to MomTalk.

December 1, 2011

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

This is a story about Finn, a sweet baby boy who was born last November. Finn's parents, Sarah and Jonathon, live in Montana. They traveled to Arizona so that Finn could be born near grandparents. Jonathan emailed me shortly after Finn's birth because breastfeeding was not going well. Despite trying everything for several weeks, Sarah could not get Finn's latch comfortable. She ended up pumping to give Finn her milk. But by then, it hurt to even pump. I was at a loss and wondered if Sarah should wean Finn. Little did I know what was to come...

December 1, 2011

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

Why does breastfeeding help protect against obesity? Information points to multiple reasons. Babies may be able to control their intake better at the breast. Not only do they have to work to get the milk, but they can more easily stop when they are full. In addition, a fast flow bottle may deliver formula very quickly, before a baby’s blood sugar has time to rise and a baby has time to feel full. Human milk also contains satiety hormones that may help a baby to eat less and be more satisfied. It may also have to do with other hormones found in breast milk that help to regulate blood sugar.  

October 10, 2011

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

I just returned from my (yikes!) 40th high school reunion. I grew up in a small town, so many of my classmates shared memories all the way back to kindergarten. It was a warm and comforting event full of acceptance and laughter.

1969-1971 was a pivotal period for high school students. While my oldest sister sat through English class in a cashmere sweater and plaid skirt, I attended our school's first Black History course dressed in bell bottoms and a hand embroidered peasant shirt.

I came of age in a time period when young women were empowered to consider  new opportunities and make choices about their future.

October 5, 2011

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

A close friend of mine just returned from spending a week helping her son and daughter-in-law take care of their first baby.  She loved playing grandma, listening to their birth story and helping to take care of everyone.
Apparently her new grand baby did not nurse well for the first several days.  Her son was very supportive, encouraging his wife to be patient until things improved.  My friend said that her daughter in law felt like a failure when her baby was not nursing well.  This comment launched us into a discussion of our culture’s expectations of new moms.

I think I surprised my friend when I said, “Well, of course new moms should feel like a failure if their baby does not feed well.  If they didn’t, who would take care of the babies?”

Take a moment to think of what would happen if moms did not feel compelled to take good care of their babies, or, in the case of breastfeeding, did not take it personally when their babies don’t feed well?  Without this motivation, would any babies ever survive?

We often forget that much of what we do has origins in biology.  Why is sex pleasurable?  So that people reproduce.  If sex was miserable, humans would be extinct.  Why should moms feel responsible for their babies?  So their babies will survive and thrive.  We live in a rapidly changing world more focused on technology than brain chemicals and hormones.  Yet it is well known that biology still rules in some matters.

What should we do when new moms feel bad because their babies are not breastfeeding well? Provide reassurance that their feelings are normal and find them help.  When moms feel as though they are being listened to, they work through their feelings.  They realize that life (and breastfeeding) is not perfect.  With help they can go on to breastfeed their baby in their own unique, special way.

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

Thirty years ago I nursed my first baby. Memories of trying to find nursing clothes are etched in my brain. Who wanted to spend money on clothes that yelled "nursing mother"? The few I found had these big slits under your arm pits. They were either not in the right place and getting your breast out required a feat of dexterity, or you felt like you were going to be ticketed for indecent exposure at any moment when your breast “fell out” of your shirt. The other option was to lift your non-nursing shirt up, which means you had to bare your "just gave birth" belly to anyone around.

Breastfeeding has changed a lot since 1981. According to Heidi, who works at MilkWorks and is nursing baby Bennett, the "Undercover Mama" has made a huge difference for her. (Even the name is pretty cool!) The Undercover Mama looks like a strapless cami. What it actually does is hook into the snaps on your nursing bra and - Voila! an instant cami (but with your own great fitting bra for support). No more bare belly...and you can make any shirt a nursing top when you wear an Undercover Mama. If your bra size changes, no problem. Just switch the Undercover Mama to your new bra.

Some gadgets may be short lived. This one appears to deserve the great invention award! Even better, Undercover Mama was started for less than a thousand dollars by a stay-at-home mom on a tight budget who couldn't get a bigger loan simply because she had been out of the workforce so long. As a result the company is dedicated to helping mothers across the world start their own businesses.

Visit their web site (www.undercovermama.com) and get inspired! I have a feeling there are many more wonderful nursing gadgets yet to be discovered by some creative mom!

September 1, 2011

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

Everything about breastfeeding seems pretty second nature to me. I breastfed my four children and have been helping mothers breastfeed for over twenty years. I can speak comfortably about breastfeeding to politicians and high school students, in front of television cameras and to people I meet in elevators and at parties. So when the Fusion Project asked me to teach a breastfeeding class to a group of eight moms, I did not even think twice. Until I showed up and learned my lesson.

August 2, 2011

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

As a community breastfeeding center, MilkWorks depends upon grants, donations and fundraisers. This income allows us to provide free moms' groups and drop in weight checks, answer breastfeeding questions 7 days a week and offer reduced consultation fees for low income moms. 

Recently one of our funders complimented MilkWorks.  She said  "You know what you want  (to help moms breastfeed), you are very tenacious and you know how to ask for help."  Help is exactly what we got when a group of incredible volunteers, led by Sarah McCurley, planned our July 16th Family Festival to celebrate ten years of MilkWorks. It was fantastic!

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

July 1, 2011

I always feel as though summer is truly here when the fireflies appear.  As a young child growing up in a small town in South Dakota, I spent many summer evenings enchanted by the sparkling lights darting in the grass, wondering how they worked their magic.

June 4th bought a bit of magic right here to MilkWorks as board members and volunteers held our first official fundraiser at the home of Dr. Tim and Patti Gardner.  It was enchanting to see such great community support for MilkWorks.

Dr. Tim and Patti Gardner’s home was the perfect setting for tasting incredible pastries and cocktails and enjoying the many friends of MilkWorks.

June 2, 2011

Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

Women often give birth and breastfeed their babies without family members living close by. There is a saying that "mothers were not meant to do this alone" and another saying that "it takes a village to raise a child." MilkWorks takes both of these concepts very seriously.

In many cultures, grandparents and other family members play a dominant role when a new baby is born. They help with household chores, make meals and model parenting behavior:  soothing a crying baby or rocking a baby to sleep. It's all so basic and seems so simple. Unless you are a new parent doing it for the first time in a sleep deprived state of mind.

May 1, 2011

Ann Seacrest, Executive Director

We all know that human babies must be protected. They need to be kept warm and dry, well fed and safe. Our babies also need to be held and loved so they learn to trust and be part of our society. The vast majority of parents work very hard to make this happen.

Many of my friends, who are now becoming grandparents, have noticed the incredible number of rules young parents face today. Sleep positions.  6-point car seat harness systems. Safety approved high chairs. Rigid and multiple immunization schedules. Sling recalls. Baby CPR. It's enough to make those of us with older children shudder and wonder how our children ever survived.

An infant injury or death is devastating to parents and family members. And in a perfect world, no child would ever get hurt. In our attempt to create a safer world for children, we must stop and realize that all the rules in the world will not make perfection. And when life throws us non-perfection, we need to avoid judgment. We need to extend support instead.

April 2, 2011

Ann Seacrest, Executive Director

Time to celebrate!

Last week Nebraska joined the rest of the country when Governor Heineman signed the new breastfeeding bill into law! Nebraska mothers may now nurse their babies in any location they have a legal right to be.

Having just returned from a service trip to Honduras in Central America, I am very aware of the drastically different living conditions in our two countries, as well as a drastically different attitude towards mothers feeding their babies.

March 2, 2011

Ann Seacrest, Executive Director

We recently received a thank you note and donation from a Lincoln day care provider who relies upon us to answer questions she has when taking care of babies who are breastfeeding. This is exactly what US Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin meant by community support when she issued the recent Call to Action for Breastfeeding.

Everyone in our community, from a breastfeeding mother, to her partner, to her mother-in-law, to her health care provider, to her employer, to her day care provider, needs to know where they can get accurate, consistent information and support.  

Not just when a mom has a baby who won't latch or isn't gaining weight, but for all those other small reasons we don't think about. The support needs to be easy to access and it needs to be available 7 days a week (and preferably 24 hours a day!).

February 10, 2011

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director

MilkWorks opened our doors ten years ago this month, shortly after the US Surgeon General issued a Breastfeeding Blueprint for Action calling for community support. Seven Lincoln women took this document to heart and decided that if mothers were going to be encouraged to breastfeed, they needed to have a good support system once they left the hospital. MilkWorks was developed as a free standing, non-profit organization (we are not affiliated with any hospital or doctor’s office), so we could serve all women and grow and develop based upon the needs of Lincoln families.

It is hard to believe that our first babies are now 10 years old!

We started out in 1,000 square feet and saw 100 mothers for consultations in the first year. Over the past 10 years, we have expanded our space 4 times and now provide lactation care to approximately a thousand mothers a year. We have done this without monthly fundraising letters and without insurance reimbursement for lactation consultants - a true testimony to the grass roots efforts, dedication and passion of our staff.

Until we opened our doors, breastfeeding support in our community was minimal.

January 26, 2011

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director

State Senator Annette Dubas introduced LB 197 in the Nebraska Legislature today. The bill simply says a mother “may breastfeed her child in any public or private location where the mothers is otherwise authorized to be.”  The bill is part of an obesity prevention campaign endorsed by the Nebraska Medical Association.

So why do we need legislation that allows mothers to breastfeed?

Infant nutrition has been identified by the US Surgeon General, Healthy People 2020 , the American Academy of Pediatrics, and numerous other medical experts as a major factor in the health of our communities.

The most recent meta analysis by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (April 2007) reviewed 9,000 studies related to the impact of what infants are fed.  Their conclusion is that feeding human babies human milk (instead of formula) results in a 4 times lower risk of SIDS, a decreased risk of type I and type II diabetes, asthma, diarrhea, eczema, ear infections, childhood leukemia, hospitalizations for lower respiratory infections and necrotizing enterocolitis in pre term infants, and, a lifetime protection against obesity, which is epidemic in Nebraska.