08/02/2026
✨ World Breastfeeding Week✨
After nearly five years as an IBCLC, one thing stands out above almost everything else:
*The biggest predictor of breastfeeding success is that a mother has seen other women breastfeed before she has her own baby.*
The next most important? A baby with appropriate tongue mobility.
I'll never forget having my first baby 19 years ago. It was still uncommon to see someone breastfeeding in public. I was lucky that I had seen women nursing around the kitchen table my whole life- but not everyone has that.
Breastfeeding is a learned behavior for both mother and baby. We aren't meant to figure it out in isolation. We learn by watching, asking questions, and being surrounded by other women who have gone before us.
Every time a mother nurses her baby in public, she isn't just feeding her child. She's quietly teaching the next generation of mothers that breastfeeding is normal, beautiful, and possible.
So this World Breastfeeding Week, if you're breastfeeding, know that your presence matters. You may never realize who is watching- but you could be giving another woman the confidence she needs before she has her own baby.
And if you're struggling with breastfeeding, know this: struggling doesn't mean you're failing. Sometimes babies need help with latch, tongue function, positioning, or milk transfer. Support can make all the difference.
❤️ Here's to normalizing breastfeeding, supporting mothers, and raising a generation that sees breastfeeding in the wild.
(Photo of me nursing my 4th toddler, after many years of pain and struggle breastfeeding with baby #1 and baby #3)
