Breastfeeding Matters by La Leche League GB

In this episode Sarah and Maria are joined by Dr Vicky Sibson,Director of the First Steps Nutrition Trust (FSNT), which is an independent public health nutrition charity that works to fill practical and policy-relevant information gaps and provides resources to support healthy eating from pre-conception through to five years of age. Vicky joined FSNT after becoming a mother herself and hasbeen the...

Sarah and Maria are honoured to be joined by NancyMohrbacher, an LLL Leader, IBCLC, FILCA. Nancy fell in love with breastfeeding while nursing her three sons. She began working as a volunteer peer supporter in 1982 and became board-certified as a lactation consultant in 1991. Nancy’s mission is to simplify life for new families—many ofwhom, without realising it, make breastfeeding more complicated...

Sarah and Maria chat with a group of mums who are nursing,or have nursed, both a baby and an older toddler or child. This is often referred to as tandem nursing . Together, we explore the journey – from breastfeeding duringpregnancy to juggling the needs of babies, toddlers, and older children at the breast. We talk about the highs and lows, as well as the benefits and challenges along the way. We...

Kathleen is a health psychologist, IBCLC, researcher, speaker, and the CEO of Praeclarus Press, a small publishing company dedicated to women’s health. She is internationally recognized for her work on breastfeeding, maternal mental health, trauma, and depression. Kathleen has authored and edited numerous books and peer-reviewed articles exploring how early trauma, inflammation, and stress affect...

Dr Wendy Jones, MBE is a highly respected UK pharmacist and expert in the safety of medications during breastfeeding. With a career spanning over four decades, Wendy has combined her professional expertise with her personal passion for breastfeeding support. In 1997, she helped found the Breastfeeding Network’s Drugsin Breastfeeding Service – a helpline that now supports thousands of families and...

LLL Leaders offer support with the normal course of breastfeeding. To enable us to support parents to investigate more complex issues and challenges we are supported by the LLLGB Panel of Professional Advisors. The panel is made up of a body of experts in breastfeeding and birth research and practice. In this episode we are excited to be speaking to one of ourprofessional advisors – Dr Victoria Th...

In this episode we are exploring the thoughts and feelingsthat can arise around breastfeeding when our journeys don’t go as planned. Research suggests that many parents find themselves stopping nursing earlier than they had hoped. And all too often, the grief that follows is overlooked orunsupported. If we are told that breastfeeding is natural, nothing prepares us for any challenges we may face....

In this episode we are honoured to share three stories ofbreastfeeding mothers who for different reasons had to triple-feed their babies in the early weeks after birth. We hope that their stories  can help our listeners who are also facing the challenges of triple-feeding. While ‘triple-feeding’  is not an official medical term – it’s widely used in the breastfeeding world to indicate that the bab...

Sarah and Maria talk about how nursing may feel around this age and stage. This milestone is often deeply connected to breastfeeding goals, expectations and the context within which we are parenting. We reflect on our own inner voice and the way we speak to ourselves about what’s ‘right’, what’s ‘enough’, or what we ‘should’ be doing and how this inner voice shapes our behaviour and may conflict w...

Black Breastfeeding week is celebrated during the last weekof August. Its aim is to amplify Black women’s voices and lived experiences which have historically been underrepresented. In LLL, stories matter. Sharing our stories connects us withsomething bigger — the global community of mothers and peers, learning from and supporting each other. We invite you to access our free support and connect wi...

In this episode by LLLGB, volunteer breastfeedingcounsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova facilitate a discussion with Mothers and Parents from four families that received breastfeeding support from La Leche League GB. We continue with the question of Adjusting toMotherhood/Parenthood and dive deeper individual stories. We celebrate triumphs and honour challenges. We reflect on expectations an...

In this episode by LLLGB, volunteer breastfeedingcounsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova catch up with one of LLLGB professional advisors – infant sleep researcher Professor Helen Ball. Helen is an Anthropologist and Director of the Infancy & Sleep Centre at Durham University. In her latest book How Babies Sleep she brings together science, anthropological insight and experience to help p...

This episode is a tribute to Naomi Stadlen, who died on 06June 2025. We are releasing part of our discussion with Naomi which we recorded in February 2025. Naomi was a retired psychotherapist and LLL Leader. She saw a mother’s role as unique and one that needs to be better understood and their crucial contributions recognised. She felt we need more words to validate what mothersare doing, especial...

In this episode by LLLGB, volunteer breastfeedingcounsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova invite fellow LLLGB Leaders, Sophia Berman and Justine Fieth, to reflect on their personal early parenting journeys. Before our baby arrives we may have a vision of what that time will be like. When the reality of this transition differs from our expectations we may find ourselves on an emotional rollerco...

In this episode by LLLGB, volunteer breastfeedingcounsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova discuss the shift in the nursing relationship with our growing baby and the need for mothers to be able to voice their needs. Breastfeeding is a foundation of human relationships and when we are communicating our needs to our growing baby and meeting their needs responsively, we are modelling respect for...

In this episode by LLLGB, volunteer breastfeeding counsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova discuss the complex and sensitive subject for many families, Breastfeeding and Allergies, with Dr Robert Boyle, one of LLLGB’s professional advisors. Dr Boyle’s research focuses on the development of new waysof preventing, diagnosing and treating allergic disease which affects young people. The episode s...

In this episode by La Leche League (LLLGB), volunteer breastfeeding counsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova discuss the pressures of introducing solid food to babies in our society. One of the 10 La Leche League Philosophy Concepts states: ‘For the healthy, full-term baby, human milk is the only food necessary until the baby shows signs of readiness for complementary foods, about the middle o...

In this episode by La Leche League (LLLGB), volunteer breastfeeding counsellors Maria Yasnova and Sarah Fletcher, along with our super boss host baby Hector, welcome Zarina Ayyub to discuss her own breastfeeding experience as a young mother in the South Asian Community. We were blown away with her reflections on how she persevered with breastfeeding, found her voice as a mother and went on to supp...

In this episode by La Leche League (LLLGB), volunteer breastfeeding counsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova discuss how overwhelming it can be to find yourself on the receiving end of unsolicited advice, conflicting information and unhelpful comments or criticism when it comes to our breastfeeding journeys and parenting in general. The episode focuses on the vulnerability of new parenthood an...

In this episode by La Leche League LLLGB, volunteer breastfeeding counsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova discuss the first six to eight weeks of life with your baby. How we feed our babies can be a highly emotive subject in Great Britain, because so many families have experienced the grief of trying very hard to provide their baby with their own milk and not reaching their breastfeeding goal...

In this episode by La Leche League LLLGB, volunteer breastfeeding counsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova welcome Jayne Joyce, who is a fellow LLLGB leader and one of four writers of The Art of Breastfeeding, 9th edition, which is available to order from 15 October 2024. The other writers of this book are: Bibiana Moreno-Carranza, Teresa Pitman and Anna Swisher. Jayne is a mother of three tee...

In this episode by La Leche League LLLGB, volunteer breastfeeding counsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova welcome Emily Lunny, who is a fellow LLL leader. She is a mother to three children, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and the Maternity& Neonatal Voices Partnership Lead at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in West Norfolk. Emily is the author of Breastfeeding a...

In this episode by La Leche League LLLGB, volunteer breastfeeding counsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova welcome Zainab Yate, infant feeding research ethics expert and campaigner, to explore the negative emotions that could arise when providing milk for your child. Zainab has been a breastfeeding peer supporter with the NHS for a number of years and is author of the only resource site for mo...

In this episode by La Leche League (LLL) GB, volunteer breastfeeding counsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova talk about the arrival of a new baby in the family: feelings, practicalities, challenges and insights. The episode focuses on that first latch, things to look out for to know that baby is feeding well, support that may be needed to get you off to a good start and meeting the mother’s n...

In this episode by La Leche League LLLGB, volunteer breastfeeding counsellors Sarah Fletcher and Maria Yasnova welcome Sarah Ojar to explore breastfeeding and Down Syndrome. Sarah Ojar has been a breastfeeding peer supporter with the Breastfeeding Network since 2016 and has been volunteering on the National Breastfeeding Helpline since 2021. In 2022 Positive About Down Syndrome (PADS) appointed he...