About Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation

Hello and welcome to Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation!

Here, I hope to offer you effective breastfeeding help which is stripped bare of unnecessary medications, surgery, aids, exercises and ideology. That's why, over the past six years as I've been writing it, I've also referred to this project as Breastfeeding Stripped Bare.

It’s hard for others to understand just how desperate we might feel when we have breastfeeding problems. The worry - and the pain - can be beyond belief.

Then there’s all the conflicting advice you receive - only because people care about you and want to help. How stressful conflicting advice can be, though! It's hard to know what or who to trust when you're wanting to do what's best for your little one.

Caring for a tiny person can be such a wonderful time for you and your family, full of joy and delight – and it can also be outrightly miserable. My aim is to help you grow the joy, as well as help you work out what to do when the going is tough.

In Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation I share with you new ways, step by step, to make breastfeeding as easy and as enjoyable as possible for you, your baby, and your family. This is a living program, constantly updated as new evidence emerges.

Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation aims to offer effective help for the whole range of challenges which can arise when you are lactating, including

• Getting started with your newborn

• Fit and hold

• Nipple pain and damage

• Breast inflammation

• Milk supply concerns - whether you have a supply which is higher or lower than your baby's caloric needs

• The baby who fusses a lot with breastfeeds - whether coming on to the breast, during feeds, or after feeds

• Tongue-tie and restricted oral connective tissues

• Other medical conditions which might affect lactation

• And more besides.

As has happened with other aspects of Neuroprotective Developmental Care or the Possums programs, I've seen my breastfeeding research publications already contribute to change in the clinical care families receive. But you'll still find that many aspects of Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation are different to the usual help being offered. This is because, firstly, there is usually something like a 17-year gap between the research and the way health professionals practice, and secondly, it's because I analyse research through a unique combination of lenses. Everyone caring for families with infants interprets the research through their own lenses - it's just that much too often, this happens quite unconsciously.

Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation is intended for all breastfeeding or lactating families, parents, carers, and their babies and toddlers across our many human diversities and abilities. You are the expert on your own little one, so I’ll just be inviting you to try out some new ideas, and see what works for you and your unique child in your own unique family. Experimenting is the key.

If you have health or medical concerns, please consult with your GP. The content in Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation doesn't substitute for the help of your local GP, health professionals and providers.

How to find your way around

My small family team and I have tried very hard to give you flexible, easy access to the program, so that you are served up options which fit the needs you and your newborn, baby, or toddler have at this moment in time. There are a few ways you can move around Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation. Just choose the path that suits you and your family best.

• You might enter in by answering the questions on the home page. Coming in this way, you're served up a selection of the most important topics, to fit your situation when you need help right now. After that, for the best results in your family's life, you might go on to work through Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation Foundations.

• You could go straight into the section of the program that you think is most relevant to you, depending on your or your family's needs. To benefit the most, you'd then work through the comprehensive Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation program after that, Foundations most importantly, then Intermediate once you are ready for more.

• Or you might just start at the beginning of Foundations, and work your way through the whole thing! You might even be someone who is interested in looking at the Advanced section for the deepest possible dive into the research base and clinical approaches from which Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation has been created.

Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation is a labour of love, created independently without external funding, a culmination of decades of work. It is a large living document which I'll continually update, and is comprehensive - but doesn't aim to be complete. Although I've tried very hard to make Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation the best and most accurate it can possibly be, like most things in life it won't be perfect. Your feedback and help with improvement is welcomed. Please use the report button to tell us what you've noticed needs to be fixed.

My hope is that Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation helps you and your family grow joy through the days and nights together, as you care for your little one.

Taking care of you

In addition to practical strategies to improve your little one's sleep, Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation aims to help you care for your emotional and mental well-being through this demanding time of life.

Do you find your mind seems to be in perpetual overdrive now that you have a baby? Having a lot of painful thoughts and feelings is normal when we’re facing big life changes, and especially when we’re sleep deprived. Often our exhausted, worried brain starts telling us lots of unhelpful and upsetting things, like

• "I’m obviously doing something wrong." (Actually, you’re not. You’re experimenting as best you can.)

• "It's my fault that breastfeeding isn't working for my baby." (But in fact, misunderstandings about how to help with breastfeeding and lactation are a widespread health system problem, definitely not the fault of any individual parent - or provider! Also, despite best efforts to help, there are times in the clinic when meeting a woman's breastfeeding goals really just doesn't work out, which can bring up a lot of grief. Knowing how to practice self-compassion is vital.)

In the Caring for you section of the Possums programs, I offer mental health and emotional wellbeing strategies to help you get through. I hope you'll find them useful throughout the rest of your life, too!

Acknowledgements

Many of the images I've used throughout Possums Breastfeeding & Lactation are purchased stock, and some I took myself. Many of the photos have been kindly donated and consented for use by breastfeeding women, out of a generous commitment to helping other women and their babies. For this, I am very grateful.