Milkworks

January 1, 2013

By Ann Seacrest, RN, IBCLC, Executive Director, MilkWorks

Human beings are one of 4,000 species of mammals. All mammalian mothers have one thing in common:  they feed their babies milk from their breasts - milk that is designed just for their baby.  Human mothers are different from other mammals in that our breasts enlarge both during puberty and again while pregnant and breastfeeding. There are numerous theories for this, including the fact that human babies do not have snouts, or long noses. Therefore, the breast enlarges in order to get closer to baby.

Which brings me to my point:  the evolution of the human bra, a device known throughout history to support, suppress, decorate, and create cleavage in the human breast. When I was a teen ager, bras were definitely under-cover. Heaven forbid that your bra strap should show in any way, manner or form!

Forward forty years to my own daughter. We traveled to a Jesuit college campus in Los Angeles this fall. Bras brightly decorated for breast cancer awareness lined the walkway. So where did the evolving bra get its start? 

December 1, 2012

By Ann Seacrest, RN, IBCLC, Executive Director, MilkWorks

I grew up in a family of very modest means. My sisters and I had a few board games and books. No jungle gym, motorized toy cars or electronic games. We made mud pies, rode our bikes, went to the park and swam in a nearby lake. Once a year, at Christmas time, I received a new doll.  I remember their names well. Chatty Cathy. Charmin' Chatty. Thumbelina. Betsey McCall. My favorites were the life size baby dolls. I remember going to Ben Franklin to buy real cloth diapers and baby bottles for my dolls.

When I read about the new breastfeeding doll, it made me think of myself. I was the youngest child in our family and never saw a baby breastfeed.  All the kids I babysat for were bottle fed.  Would I have been better prepared to breastfeed my own children if I had been given a breastfeeding doll?

September 30, 2012

By Ann Seacrest, RN, IBCLC, Executive Director, MilkWorks

I am seeing pink ribbons everywhere as Lincoln prepares for breast cancer awareness events in the month of October. As a breastfeeding center, we are especially aware of the relationship between breastfeeding and breast cancer. Florence Williams, an investigative journalist,  a new mother, and author of the book, Breasts, reports that breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women worldwide. The good news is that breastfeeding plays an important role in reducing breast cancer rates.

According to a meta analysis conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, there is substantial evidence that breastfeeding decreases a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. The disruption of certain hormones, specifically estrogen, works to protect a woman from breast cancer.  The effect seems to be cumulative.  The longer a woman breastfeeds, the less exposure she has.

Leave it to our bodies to be a bit more complicated than that.

Melissa Meyer, a local mom, is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer which was detected after she weaned her son. According to the National Cancer Institute, a very small number of women will be diagnosed with breast cancer following a pregnancy. Some researchers believe this may be due to the effect of high levels of hormones on pre-existing microscopic cancers or the rapid growth of breast cells during pregnancy. Melissa explains that breastfeeding her son may have helped to save her life.

September 1, 2012

By Ann Seacrest, RN, IBCLC, Executive Director, MilkWorks

I LOVE watching the Olympics. I have a blend of sympathy and admiration for the athletes. Their fierceness for perfection strikes me as unrealistic. Yet their determination inspires me. Because I personally value teamwork more than winning, when they help each other to succeed, it makes me smile.

So what do the Olympics have to do with breastfeeding?

The Centers for Disease Control releases statistics on breastfeeding every couple of years. When they release the new data, it is like reading the sports page. How did Nebraska do? Are our stats better this year? Did we beat Iowa?

July 31, 2012

By Ann Seacrest, RN, IBCLC, Executive Director, MilkWorks

The act of breastfeeding a baby cuts across cultures and races and religions. It meanders across the ages, dating back to the first human born, and across geography, from continent to continent. There are few experiences throughout history, and in today’s diverse world, that are as shared as a mother breastfeeding her baby. Andrea Cabra White, a member of MilkWorks Board of Directors, was born and raised in Colombia, South America. She now lives in Lincoln with her two children and her husband, a native Cornhusker. A talented artist, Andrea designs unique hair accessories under the brand Luna. She also has a special interest in helping Spanish American mothers breastfeed their babies.

Andrea and I recently spent time with a small group of mothers from Cuba and Mexico at El Centro, one of Lincoln’s multi-cultural community centers. The stories they shared with us were very similar to ones we hear every day at MilkWorks. Sometimes breastfeeding is easy for a mom and baby. Sometimes it is hard. Support is vital. Mothers new to America are often raised in a breastfeeding culture back home, but may struggle in the United States. Free formula sends a mixed message. Language differences and a lack of transportation create additional barriers to seeking support.

June 11, 2012

By Ann Seacrest, RN, IBCLC, Executive Director, MilkWorks

Grizzly bears and humans have one thing in common. They are both mammals and they both nurse their newborns. Beyond that, they are quite different.

Grizzly bears go into hibernation (a deep sleep or state of inactivity), for five to six months during the winter. A female bear will hibernate earlier if she is pregnant and will burrow much deeper below the snow and earth. While in hibernation, she will not eat, drink, urinate or pass stool.  In January, she will give birth to one to three cubs while in hibernation. The cubs will weigh around 5 pounds each and will begin to nurse while their mother sleeps.

May 29, 2012

By Ann Seacrest, RN, IBCLC, Executive Director, MilkWorks

It has been a busy month for breasts! First, the Time magazine cover photo and then the publication of Florence William's book about breasts. There has been lots of talk about breastfeeding, which is always exciting if you are a community breastfeeding center!

The other excitement is our upcoming 2nd Annual Milk & Cookies party. This is our main community fundraiser for the year. Coming on the heels of the successful Give to Lincoln campaign, we are honored that so many of our loyal volunteers and board members have spent their time and energy planning this party. Please join us at the home of Ed and Coty Ring to sample sweets and enjoy visiting with MilkWorks staff and supporters on June 23rd!

Asking for money is the one part of my job that is really hard for me. But until the Bill Gates of breastfeeding comes along to make sure we have the resources we need to help Lincoln families, it is part and parcel of running MilkWorks. Every single donation, no matter the size, helps to pay our staff, write a check to our landlord, and cover our liability insurance. In turn, this allows us to educate, support and be here for breastfeeding moms.  

Thank you for your support!

May 1, 2012

By Ann Seacrest, RN, IBCLC, Executive Director, MilkWorks

This Mother’s Day, I would like to thank a special group of mothers. Breastfeeding is alive in the United States because of them. Fifty six years ago a group of mothers in Chicago resisted social and medical advice and refused to formula feed their babies. This group developed into La Leche League, which to this day provides mother-to-mother support for breastfeeding.

Another consumer led breastfeeding effort is happening in the year 2012. Public Citizen, a non-profit consumer advocacy group founded in 1971, has launched a petition to stop the free distribution of formula in hospitals. They claim that free formula samples undermine breastfeeding. Fortunately almost all Lincoln and Omaha hospitals have now stopped providing free formula.

It is a paradox. We encourage mothers to breastfeed, but we often provide free formula in hospitals, doctor’s offices and food supplement programs, such as WIC. Public health experts promote human milk as the “gold standard” of infant food. Yet we seldom provide the support that a mother needs to make breastfeeding work, including the “next best alternative.”

April 9, 2012

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

I recently facilitated a panel presentation at Ameritas sponsored by WorkWell, Southeast Nebraska’s worksite wellness council. Funded by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the event was designed to help employers understand the amended Fair Labor Standards Act. 

As of March, 2010, employers must provide private space and reasonable pump breaks for breastfeeding mothers in the work force. Over 65 representatives from Lincoln businesses attended the event. While a handful of employers have been supportive for years, there were many who have no formal policy in place. Their interest in complying with the law was exciting. It also made me realize how far we have come in providing support for breastfeeding moms.

About eight years ago, I was the guest speaker at a similar WorkWell presentation. I believe six or seven employers attended and I spoke to the “choir” – businesses that were already supportive. Around that time, MilkWorks started hosting yearly workshops for moms called “You Can Do It:  Return to Work and Breastfeed Your Baby.” However, my interest in breastfeeding in the work place goes back even further.

April 9, 2012

There are a lot of smiling faces at MilkWorks this week. Why? New computers that work well. Five words that are not familiar in that combination around MilkWorks.

Thanks to Nebraska Global, a software investment company, our dream has come true!

March 9, 2012

Please let your employer know about this upcoming presentation (and free lunch!) that is being offered at Ameritas on March 21st.  It is a perfect way for businesses to learn how to comply with the newly amended Fair Labor Standards Act and support breastfeeding mothers in the work force.

The panel will feature two MilkWorks board members, attorney Adam Prochaska and Liz Ring-Carlson, a public affairs manager at State Farm who has returned-to-work and breastfed two babies (with a third on the way!).

Please help us spread the word about this event!

Thanks!

Ann, Executive Director, MilkWorks

The Fair Labor Standards Act and Breastfeeding Mothers: What Employers Need to Know

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act was recently amended to address the needs of breastfeeding mothers in the work force. WorkWell, Southeast Nebraska's worksite wellness council, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health, and the Women’s Health Advisory Council are sponsoring an informational luncheon designed for employers to help them better understand the FLSA changes and how to support breastfeeding employees. There is no cost to attend.

All employers, business managers and human resource managers in Lancaster County are invited to attend the presentation on Wednesday, March 21st from

11:30 am – 1:00 pm at Ameritas, 5900 O Street.

A complimentary lunch will be served. Registration is required. Please call or email Jackie at (402) 441-6212 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

March 1, 2012

By Ann Seacrest, Executive Director, MilkWorks

The year is 1963. I remember being 10 years old, snooping through my mother's closet and finding a pale pink baby book with my birth certificate tucked inside. As I opened the book, a small card fell out. My mother told me it was my "crib card." It read "Baby Girl Raschke, born March 11 at 11:53 pm, weight 7 lbs. 8 ounces." In the corner of the card was the word "Breast." My mother explained that she breastfed me. Thinking that all babies were fed from a bottle, I asked her why. She responded that our family could not afford to buy formula.

That discussion was my first experience with breastfeeding.

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...

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.

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.

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.