Makes Milk with Emma Pickett: breastfeeding from the beginning to the end

Trigger warning: This episode discusses fertility struggles, miscarriage and early pregnancy loss. Fertility and breastfeeding can be confusing, with conflicting information coming from friends, family and medical practitioners, so in this episode I speak to the knowledgeable Carol Smyth IBCLC to try and make sense of the issue. We talk about what effect breastfeeding has on your hormones, when pe...

Catherine’s story touched on a lot of elements: managing with tongue tie, triple feeding, looking after yourself, setting feeding goals and knowing when parent-led weaning and putting in boundaries feels right. We look at managing the big feelings of little people, the aware parenting philosophy, the importance of support and that final breastfeed when the time comes.  You can find Catherine on in...

Are there additional challenges to weaning a neurodivergent child? What strategies can we employ to wean with care and kindness when neurodivergence is involved?  In the next two episodes, I’m sharing two different perspectives, from Eleanor and Faith. In this episode, I speak to Eleanor about weaning her first child, Anna. Both Eleanor and Anna have recently been diagnosed with autism. We discuss...

Are there additional challenges to weaning a neurodivergent child? What strategies can we employ to wean with care and kindness when neurodivergence is involved?  In the next two episodes, I’m sharing two different perspectives, from Eleanor and Faith. In this episode, I speak to Faith about weaning her son, Addison. We talk about having a newborn during the Covid lockdown, nursing manners, and le...

Our weaning topic isn’t over yet, but this week, I wanted to answer some of your questions about weaning. You can find a list of the questions and when they come up below, and if you have a question that I haven’t covered yet, do message me on Instagram @emmapickettibclc and I’ll answer it in a later episode. Find out more about breastfeeding and chest feeding older babies and children in my book...

Continuing to breastfeed/ chest feed during pregnancy is normal but not always well understood. Many people feel pressure to stop nursing their child when a new baby comes along. They may be told that breastfeeding during pregnancy is the problem or weaning in pregnancy is essential to avoid the ‘nightmare’ of tandem feeding. In this episode, I explore the research about breastfeeding during pregn...

Weaning a booby monster can feel like an impossible task. In this episode, I explore your motivations for weaning, and whether a refresh on nursing manners could help. I talk about ways you can upskill to meet your child’s needs without the breast, how to cut down on the number of feeds and how you can talk with your child to wean with kindness and authenticity. Find out more about breastfeeding a...

Night weaning is often the first step in parent-led weaning. In this episode, I explore how you could approach it and I talk about Dr Jay Gordon’s method and Lyndsey Hookway’s habit-stacking approach. I also discuss why I believe leaving your nursling overnight is not an effective strategy for weaning. Find out more about breastfeeding and chest feeding older babies and children in my book Support...

In this episode, I ask, when is it natural for a nursling to wean?  We look at the social and biological evidence, and hear from Hannah Barker about her experience as her daughter self-weaned at around 2 years old. I also explore common methods of weaning, including ‘Don’t offer, Don’t refuse’, and partial weaning. Find out more about breastfeeding and chest feeding older babies and children in my...

In this episode, we explore why you might want to end breastfeeding/chest feeding. I discuss the misleading advice that some parents receive, the societal pressures, and the guilt that you may be feeling, but also the autonomy that you can have to make this decision for yourself and your family. Find out more about the benefits of breastfeeding and chest feeding in my book Supporting Breastfeeding...

In this first episode, we take a moment to celebrate your breastfeeding/chest feeding journey so far.  However long you have fed your baby for, you have given them and yourself a wonderful gift. Even if you are not enjoying things right now or considering bringing things to a close, you have done something amazing and that deserves recognition. So let’s think about what you have shared, and say we...

Welcome to Makes Milk with Emma Pickett. We'll begin weekly episodes in September, but in the meantime, you can subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow me on Twitter @MakesMilk and on Instagram  @emmapickettibclc or find out more on my website www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com This podcast is presented by Emma Pickett IBCLC , and produced by Emily Crosby Media .