Breastfeeding USA Memphis Chapter

01/28/2026

What improves adolescent brain function? Longer breastfeeding, according to this 2025 longitudinal study. It found the longer babies breastfed, the greater the structural brain enhancements in adolescents that lead to better mental health, better executive functioning and better school performance. Free download here:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40382469/

12/02/2025

This Giving Tuesday, support Breastfeeding USA on its 15th anniversary by becoming a member or a friend of breastfeeding USA (through our breastfeedingusa.org website) or by donating through this post.

With your support we will continue providing evidence-based breastfeeding information and support, and promoting breastfeeding as the biological and cultural norm.

This year, we are also very excited to inform that we will be updating our learning course and your contributions can help us finalize this project.

Even a small contribution can go a long way:

$15 covers a month of activities of a local Breastfeeding USA chapter.
$35 covers a yearly membership of our Breastfeeding Counselors, Volunteers and other members.
$125 covers the cost of the accreditation course for a Breastfeeding Counselor.

With your donations and your support, Breastfeeding USA will continue working to make breastfeeding achievable and sustainable for all families.

11/15/2025

A lower risk of breast cancer has long been recognized among the benefits of breastfeeding for mothers. Now, researchers are closer to understanding why.

A new study found that:
✅ Having babies and breastfeeding causes CD8+ T cells—a special type of immune cell—to accumulate in normal breast tissue.
✅ These protective cells remain in the tissue for decades after childbirth.
✅ They act as long-term guards, helping prevent breast cancer—especially the aggressive triple-negative type.
✅ However, this protective T-cell response was observed ONLY after a full cycle of lactation and breast recovery.

Lifelong health benefits for babies AND mothers—that’s why BFUSA partners with facilities to support every family in meeting their breastfeeding goals.🤱🏽

10/23/2025

10/15/2025

Breastfeeding into toddlerhood and beyond is biologically normal and beneficial for mom and child.

The natural term for humans to breastfeed is anywhere between 2 and 7+ years. Some babies stop earlier, some carry on for longer.

Many cultures around the world breastfeed to natural term, including many women in the Western world. This age range is only surprising in cultures that interrupt breastfeeding, often without realising it or knowing which norms are biological and which are cultural.

The concentration of fats and proteins increase as a baby grows into a toddler, along with increased levels of antibacterial and antiviral components such as lysozyme, which is an anti-inflammatory, and destroys bacteria.

Lysozyme increases in concentration from about 6 months old, when babies become more mobile and everything (toys, sand, cats biscuits?) goes straight in the mouth, and keeps increasing after the first year.

The concentration of Lactoferrin also increases over time. Lactoferrin inhibits the growth of some cancerous cells. It also binds to the iron in our baby’s body, preventing it from being available to harmful microorganisms that need iron to survive. Lactoferrin also kills the bacteria strep mutans, a cause of tooth decay and cavities.

Our body’s immune system takes around 6 years to become fully mature, so the support of the protective factors in breastmilk until our immune system can fully function on its own seems play a part in the timescale of natural term weaning too.

Longer term breastfeeding is also associated with reduced risk of diseases for mothers, including breast cancer.

We acknowledge that many mothers find it difficult to establish breastfeeding in the first place, that is a multi-layered investment on the part of a mother and that natural term feeding might not feel like, or be, a possibility for many.

We're not here to tell anyone what to do.

We also acknowledge that lack of information about our biology contributes to lack of support for mothers when they want to establish, or continue, breastfeeding, but cannot find the help they need from people who understand why it matters, or what is normal.

More at https://human-milk.com/pages/science-of-breastmilk

10/13/2025

👻

08/04/2025

08/01/2025

Sometimes nursing doesn’t go the way we imagined.

Pain, supply concerns, or the pressure to do it 'perfectly' can wear us down. You're not alone. Our volunteer counselors are here to listen without judgment.

06/13/2025

05/11/2025

To every mother, every parent, every nurturer:

We see you.
We see the late nights, the cracked ni***es, the bottle prep, the endless feeds, the joyful cuddles, and the lonely moments.
Whether you nurse, pump, supplement, combo-feed, or wean, we're here to remind you: you're doing something incredible.

Happy Mother's Day from Breastfeeding USA