Episode 51: When There is No Easy Button Exclusive Pumping and Milk Making After Infant Loss with Jen Burgard
Did you want to breastfeed because somewhere along the way someone told you “It is so much easier than bottles!” You didn’t want to be cleaning bottles all the time, you didn’t want to be hooked to a machine, you wanted to roll over in the night, feed a baby, and go back to sleep with ease and confidence? Maybe that was the case for you– but for so many people I speak with– that is not how baby feeding works out.
My guest Jen Burgard shines a light on two difficult experiences when it comes to milk making The first is the challenges of exclusive pumping, especially when you wanted so badly to feed your baby from your own body. Jen persevered through exclusive pumping not once, but twice. We both have our suspensions about what might have been the reason her babies struggle to feed at the breast.
The second major difficulty Jen so graciously shared with us was her personal experience of dealing with making milk after an unexpected infant loss. The pain of losing her baby Henry was enough in and of itself. But to then be left to google what to do with her milk was cruel. She should have been supported.
October is Infant Loss Awareness Month, so Jen’s story is coming to The Milk Making Minutes at a critical time. Jen is the host of Landscape of Loss: Haven the Podcast where she explores topics related to infant and child loss each week. If this story brings you healing and comfort, find more such stories here.
This week we discuss:
Sleepy baby at the breast
Cross country move while breastfeeding
Exclusive pumping
Tongue tie
Placental abruption
Infant loss
Milk after infant loss
Grief
Conception after infant loss
Feeding a baby in the NICU
Grieving a lost breastfeeding experience
To learn about the Jen Burgard’s support community visit her website!
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