Mother to Mother breastfeeding support in New Zealand
Connect with a Leader near you
Questions or worries about breastfeeding? Our accredited La Leche League Leaders are experienced mothers who have been trained to provide information and support for breastfeeding. We can help over the phone, you can come along to our informal meetings, or ask a questions via email and on social media. All of this is free and confidential.
Find your local group
You can find details of our accredited breastfeeding helpers and group meetings across Aotearoa here.
Our mission is to help mothers to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, education, information, and encouragement and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother.
Online Facebook Meetings
Meetings are held the last Tuesday of every month from 7:30pm
You can join us for breastfeeding support and information from the comfort of your own home – pyjamas and beverage of your choice optional.
No technical ability required, just join the meeting group and be online that evening.
We’d love to see you there.
Wise words from The Milk Meg - it is not possible to cuddle your baby too much!It is literally NOT POSSIBLE to cuddle your baby, hold your baby and breastfeed your baby too often. You will never look back and say, "Oh how I wish I didn't hold my baby so much." Soon you'll blink and they will be 16 years old. <3
Need support with breastfeeding and sleep? Your local LLLNZ group can support you with this and almost any other by breastfeeding challenge you can think of. Find your local group here:
lalecheleague.org.nz/get-help/
#LLLNZ #BreastfeedingSupport #Sleep
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Your local group library will have a range of sleep books including Sweet Sleep, or you can shop our online store lllnzshop.org.nz/sweet-sleep
If you are struggling with sleep, did you know a breastfeeding parent can safely
Co-sleep with their little one following the safe sleep 7 www.llli.org/breastfeeding-info/sleep-bedshare/ 💤 💤💤
Make sure you join our private #OnlineMeeting group so you can follow the #LiveChat this morning from 10am.
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Join group:
www.facebook.com/groups/LLLNZonline/
Live chat runs monthly at 10am third Tuesday of the month 💚
Online meetings run monthly from 7pm on the last Tuesday of the month 💚
IS THRUSH CAUSING MY SORE NIPPLES?
“Persistent nipple pain in the early weeks of breastfeeding, or nipple pain that appears after several weeks or months of pain-free nursing, may be caused by thrush, which is a yeast infection of the nipples.”
www.llli.org/breastfeeding-info/thrush/
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#LLLNZ #NipplePain #BreastPain #BreastfeedingSupport #LaLecheLeague #Thrush #Resources #ThrushResources
Thrush passes back and forth between your baby and you very easily due to your dyad relationship. Make sure that whenever either of you is diagnosed with thrush, your health practitioners know that you are breastfeeding and prescribe treatments for both of you. Before you treat for thrush, make sure other possible causes of nipple or breast pain are ruled out, such as Vasospasm, issues with positioning or latch, mastitis, or oral ties. *This post is specifically providing Thrush resources.*
“Additional symptoms can include:
💥Itchy or burning nipples that appear fiery red, shiny, flaky, and/or have a rash with tiny blisters
💥Cracked nipples
💥Shooting pains in the breast during or after feedings
💥Intense nipple or breast pain that is not improved with better latch-on and positioning”
“It is essential for both you and your baby to be treated for thrush, because it is easily spread, and thrives in warm moist environments, such as your baby’s mouth. A baby may also have yeast rashes in the diaper area. Any skin that touches other skin is especially vulnerable for the breastfeeding dyad.”
Additional resources:
LLL Great Britain - Thrush
www.laleche.org.uk/thrush/
Ministry of health - Thrush when Breastfeeding
www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatments/diseases-and-illnesses/thrush-when-breas...
KellyMom Thrush Resources:
kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/thrush-resources
[Image: mother frowning down at breastfeeding infant, text: is Thrush the cause of breastfeeding pain? #resources]
Need some support from the comfort of your own home? Not able to get out to meetings or coffee mornings as you would like? Live chat this week over in the Online Meeting group:
www.facebook.com/groups/LLLNZonline/
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#BreastfeedingSupport #LLLNZ #OnlineMeetings
Event here:
www.facebook.com/events/2286062698116603/?ti=icl
WABA World Breastfeeding Week is from 1-7th August and the Annual “Big latch on” is on Friday 2nd Aug. There are BLO events happened all over Aotearoa - follow Big Latch On (Aotearoa/New Zealand) for updates on all the events and to find the one near you.
#BreastfeedingSupport #BigLatchOn #LLLNZ #WBW
Did you wake up on the “touched out” side of the bed this morning from having your toddler latching on and off all night long?
If you are ready to gently stop breastfeeding your toddler to sleep and through the night, check out this excellent informative blog:
www.georginadowden.com.au/post/how-to-gently-stop-breastfeeding-your-toddler-to-sleep
It is possible with an older toddler to put gentle boundaries in place and transition away from breastfeeding at night with out completely weaning. You might find you are happy to continue the breastfeeding relationship for some time once you have reduced to a more manageable number of breastfeeds. The breastfeeding relationship is about two people and you need to be comfortable as well as your child. Have a read of the link above
#LLLNZ #EverybodyWeans #Nightboob #NightWeaning #BreastfeedingSupport
Establishing breastfeeding with a baby in the NICU #Resources #NICU 🤱🏾🤱🤱🏼🤱🏻
Have you had an experience with establishing breastfeeding with a baby in the NICU or SCBU? What was the hardest thing for you? What was something that really helped? Lots of resources linked below.
#LLLove 💚
From “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding”:
“Your baby knows your voice and your smell and will respond differently to your touch than she will to anyone else’s. Even the most fragile baby will benefit from hearing you talk to her and from your gentle touch.”
The “Alternate Routes” chapter in The Womanly Art has a great section on premature babies and breastfeeding challenges. Your group library or even local public library will have a copy you can loan, or you can purchase one here:
lllnzshop.org.nz/womanly-art-of-breastfeeding
Don’t forget the three keeps:
- keep your milk flowing
- keep your baby fed
- keep your baby close
Kellymom Nicu links:
kellymom.com/ages/newborn/nb-challenges/preemie-links/
Establishing and maintaining a milk supply when baby is not breastfeeding:
kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/basics/maintainsupply-pump/
Human milk storage guidelines for premature infants:
kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/milkstorage/milkstorage-preemie/
Milk storage guidelines are different for premature or hospitalized babies, as these babies are more at risk for infection.
www.laleche.org.uk/successfully-breastfeeding-premature-baby/#establishing
“Once your baby is able to come out of the incubator, then kangaroo care can become an important part of your time together. This is where your baby is placed skin to skin on your chest for as long as possible and a blanket put over both of you. Your baby is able to enjoy the sensations of your closeness and the deep relaxation and comfort they feel helps them to regulate their breathing, temperature and other health indicators. It also helps your breast to become a familiar environment and allows them to practise feeding directly from the breast easily.”
Are you interested in applying to be a Leader with La Leche League?
If you are interested in finding out more about becoming a leader, join this international online meeting from La Leche League International here:
www.facebook.com/groups/IsLeadershipForYou/
This session is running at 0500 Wednesday 10 July NZ time. You might possibly be awake with little ones but if you are still snoozing, you can join the group and read through the discussion later.
The group is open now to join and introduce yourself.
As this is an international meeting, Some posts and comments will be in other languages so use the translation tool if required.
#Leadership #LLLNZ #BreastfeedingSupport
Did you know about FIL, the Feedback Inhibitor of Lactation? The more full your breasts are, the more FIL you have which tells your body to stop producing milk! The more empty they are, the less FIL, and the more milk keeps getting produced. Just Magic.
Love this helpful Graphic From Lucy Webber Breastfeeding IBCLC: the more milk you remove, the more you make.
#Breastfeeding #FeedbackInhibitorofLactation #LLLNZ #FactsWas talking about this today