Midland County Breastfeeding Coalition

08/18/2026

We are hosting our Rock N’ Rest at the fair again this year, every day, 12-8. Stop by to feed or change your baby! This year we moved across the street, closer to the restrooms.

08/15/2026

🍼 National Breastfeeding Month: Breastfeeding After a C-Section

A C-section does not mean you can’t breastfeed—and many parents go on to have a wonderful breastfeeding experience after a cesarean birth. 💛

But there are a few things that can sometimes make the early days a little different.

🤱 Some possible challenges after a C-section:

⏰ Delayed first feeding or skin-to-skin
If mom or baby needs medical attention after birth, skin-to-skin or the first feeding may be delayed. When medically stable, skin-to-skin can often begin in the OR or recovery area.

💊 Medications & anesthesia
Medications used during surgery can temporarily affect how alert or coordinated baby is, depending on the medications and circumstances. Your healthcare team can help determine when and how to begin feeding.

💗 Pain & physical recovery
A C-section is major abdominal surgery. Incisional pain, limited mobility, and difficulty finding a comfortable position can make those first feeds more challenging.

🍼 Fewer early feeding opportunities
If mom and baby are separated or baby is sleepy, there may be fewer opportunities for early milk removal. Since frequent milk removal helps establish milk production, protecting those feeding opportunities—or expressing milk when a feeding isn’t possible—can be helpful.

💧 IV fluids & early weight loss
C-section births often involve IV fluids. Greater fluid exposure can contribute to greater fluid loss through urination after birth, which may make baby’s early weight loss appear larger than it would otherwise.

😴 Exhaustion & recovery
Recovering from surgery while caring for a newborn can be physically demanding. Having someone available to help with positioning, bringing baby to mom, diaper changes, meals, and rest can make a BIG difference.

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💛 But here’s what we DON’T want parents to hear:

❌ “You had a C-section, so breastfeeding will be harder.”

❌ “Your milk won’t come in.”

❌ “Your baby lost too much weight because you aren’t making enough.”

Instead, we want parents to hear:

“Let’s look at what’s happening and figure out what support you need.”

A cesarean birth may come with some additional considerations, but it doesn’t determine your breastfeeding outcome.

Skin-to-skin when medically safe, early and frequent feeding, comfortable positioning, appropriate milk expression when needed, and knowledgeable support can all help give breastfeeding the best possible start. 🩷

And if you or your baby need additional medical care or supplementation, that doesn’t mean breastfeeding has failed. Feeding your baby and protecting your breastfeeding goals can happen at the same time.

✨ Your birth story is not a prediction of your breastfeeding story.

08/14/2026

🍼 National Breastfeeding Month: Newborn Weight Loss, IV Fluids & C-Sections

Have you ever wondered why some babies lose more weight in the first few days after birth?

Or why breastfeeding can sometimes feel a little harder after a C-section?

Let’s talk about it! 👇

💧 MATERNAL IV FLUIDS & BABY’S WEIGHT

During labor and delivery, many birthing parents receive IV fluids.

Those fluids can temporarily increase both the parent’s and baby’s fluid levels.

After birth, baby naturally begins getting rid of that extra fluid through urination.

This can sometimes make baby’s early weight loss appear greater, even though the baby may not have lost that amount of actual tissue weight.

For example, a baby may be born weighing 8 lb and have received a significant amount of fluid exposure through the birthing parent. Some of that early weight can represent extra fluid.

As baby diureses (gets rid of the extra fluid), the scale can drop.

💡 This is one reason we need to look at the WHOLE picture—not just one number on the scale.

Healthcare providers and lactation professionals may consider:

🍼 Feeding effectiveness
💧 Wet & dirty diapers
👶 Baby’s behavior and alertness
🤱 Milk transfer
⚖️ The pattern and timing of weight loss
💗 Baby’s overall clinical condition

Weight is important—but weight alone doesn’t tell the entire story.

08/13/2026

🩷 National Breastfeeding Month: The Incredible Power of Skin-to-Skin 🩷

Skin-to-skin isn’t just a sweet moment after birth. It is a biological process that helps both baby and parent transition into life outside the womb. 🥹

So what actually happens when a newborn is placed skin-to-skin?

👶 Baby cries → then begins to calm.

That first cry helps baby transition to breathing outside the womb. When baby is placed directly on their parent’s chest, the familiar warmth, smell, heartbeat, and voice can help baby become calmer and more organized.

💗 Baby begins to relax.

Skin-to-skin can help stabilize baby’s heart rate, breathing, temperature, and blood glucose, while reducing stress and energy expenditure.

👃 Baby begins to smell and recognize their parent.

A newborn’s sense of smell is incredibly important. The scent of the breast and their parent’s skin helps guide baby toward the breast.

🍼 Then comes the BREAST CRAWL!

When left uninterrupted on their parent’s chest, many newborns go through a series of instinctive behaviors:

✨ They rest
✨ They wake and become more alert
✨ They move their arms and legs
✨ They make small pushing and crawling movements
✨ They may bring their hands toward their mouth
✨ They may lick or smell the breast
✨ They may massage the breast with their hands
✨ And eventually… they may find the breast and begin feeding!

This is often called the breast crawl. 🤍

And here’s the amazing part:

Baby isn’t being “taught” how to do this.

These behaviors are part of a newborn’s innate biological programming.

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🤱 Benefits for Mom

Skin-to-skin isn’t only beneficial for baby!

It can:

💗 Promote the release of oxytocin
💗 Encourage uterine contractions after birth
💗 Support bonding and attachment
💗 Help initiate breastfeeding
💗 Support milk production by increasing opportunities for feeding
💗 Help mom become familiar with baby’s feeding cues
💗 Promote relaxation and reduce stress
💗 What is even more incredible, while doing skin to skin mom can regulate both warming up or cooling baby down due to biological connections!

And that oxytocin?

It’s sometimes called the “love hormone” because it plays an important role in bonding, breastfeeding, and postpartum physiology.

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👶 Benefits for Baby

Skin-to-skin can help baby:

🌡️ Regulate body temperature
❤️ Stabilize heart rate
🫁 Support more stable breathing
🩸 Maintain blood glucose
😌 Reduce stress and crying
🍼 Demonstrate feeding behaviors
💗 Support bonding and attachment
💤 Spend more time in a calm state

It also gives baby an opportunity to transition from the warm, familiar environment of the womb to the outside world while still being close to a familiar body, heartbeat, voice, and scent.

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👨‍👧 And YES… Dad gets in on this too!

Skin-to-skin isn’t just for the breastfeeding parent.

Dad/partner skin-to-skin matters, too. 💙

When baby rests against dad’s bare chest, it can:

🤍 Promote bonding
🤍 Help baby regulate temperature and heart rate
🤍 Calm and comfort baby
🤍 Increase opportunities for connection
🤍 Help dad become familiar with baby’s cues
🤍 Give dad an important role in baby’s transition after birth

And if mom needs to rest, eat, shower, or simply take a break?

Dad can provide that same beautiful closeness through skin-to-skin.
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✨ So the next time you see a newborn resting peacefully on a parent’s bare chest, remember:

They’re not “just cuddling.”

Their bodies are communicating.

Baby says: “I’m safe.”

Parent’s body says: “I’ve got you.”

And together, they’re learning how to be a family outside the womb. 🩷

08/12/2026

💛 AND THEN COMES DAY 2…

This is where many parents start to panic.

Your baby may suddenly want to nurse over and over and over again.

They nurse.

You put them down.

They wake up.

They want to nurse again.

And again.

And again.

This is cluster feeding.

It can feel like:

“There’s no way I’m making enough milk!”

But frequent feeding in the early days is normal newborn behavior and serves an important purpose.

🍼 Baby is stimulating the breasts.

🍼 Baby is removing colostrum.

🍼 Baby is signaling your body to increase milk production.

🍼 Baby is also adjusting to life outside the womb.

Cluster feeding does NOT automatically mean that baby isn’t getting enough.

And remember: your newborn’s stomach is still tiny. Your breasts aren’t supposed to be producing the same volume of milk on day 1 that they will produce weeks later.

Your milk production is designed to increase as your baby’s needs increase.

🤰 During pregnancy → your breasts develop and begin producing colostrum.

👶 Placenta is delivered → progesterone drops.

🍼 Frequent milk removal → signals the breasts to increase production.

🥛 Over the following days → milk volume gradually increases and changes to meet baby’s growing needs.

✨ Your baby isn’t “running out” of milk because they want to nurse frequently.

Sometimes, they’re doing exactly what their tiny body is designed to do: ask your body to make more. 💛

And if there are concerns about intake, don’t rely on feeding frequency alone. Your lactation professional and baby’s healthcare provider can look at the whole picture—including diaper output, weight changes, latch/milk transfer, and baby’s behavior—to determine whether additional support is needed.

08/11/2026

🍼✨ National Breastfeeding Month: What Happens to Your Milk After Birth?

Your body is already making colostrum during pregnancy—but the placenta plays a huge role in keeping your milk production from fully switching on!

🤰 During pregnancy:
Your breasts develop and begin producing colostrum, but high levels of pregnancy hormones—especially progesterone—help prevent your breasts from producing large volumes of milk.

👶 Then baby is born… and the placenta is delivered.

Once the placenta is detached and delivered, progesterone levels drop dramatically. This hormonal shift, along with frequent and effective milk removal, tells the breasts:

“It’s time to make milk!” 🥛

This is called lactogenesis II, often referred to as your milk “coming in.”

💛 And here’s something really important:

You don’t have to collect a freezer stash of colostrum before your baby is born for breastfeeding to work.

In the first days after birth, your baby’s stomach is tiny, and your body is designed to produce small amounts of concentrated colostrum that match what your newborn needs.

That means those drops of colostrum are exactly what your newborn is designed to receive.

🍼 Newborns feed frequently. Frequent feeding/removal of milk helps provide the stimulation your body needs to increase milk production as your baby’s needs grow.

Demand = Supply

Your body doesn’t need to have a freezer full of colostrum waiting for your baby.

Your body and your baby are designed to work together. 💛

✨ Small amounts. Tiny stomach. Powerful milk. Exactly what baby needs.

You got this!

08/10/2026

🍼✨ National Breastfeeding Month: Did You Know?

Did you know your breasts actually continue developing throughout your reproductive years? 🤯

Breast development doesn’t simply stop when puberty ends!

🌸 With your first period:
Hormonal changes begin influencing the breast tissue, and with each menstrual cycle, the breast goes through additional changes and development.

🌱 Throughout your reproductive years:
The glandular tissue in your breasts continues to develop and change in response to your hormones. Your breasts are essentially preparing for their future job—making milk!

🤰 During pregnancy:
This development really accelerates! Pregnancy hormones stimulate the growth and maturation of milk-producing structures called alveoli and the surrounding glandular tissue.

🥛 By the beginning of the second trimester:
Your breasts are already capable of producing colostrum—the thick, nutrient- and antibody-rich first milk preparing to be exactly what your baby will receives.

And here’s the amazing part…

Your breasts aren’t necessarily “finished developing” after puberty. The amount and maturity of milk-making tissue can continue to increase and change throughout pregnancy and lactation. Development continues each cycle, and each pregnancy!

Your body has been preparing for breastfeeding long before your baby ever arrives. 💛

✨ Breastfeeding is a biological process that begins with years of preparation—not just when your baby is born.

08/01/2026

🎉 Today marks the beginning of National Breastfeeding Month! 🤱💙

Throughout the month, we’ll be sharing breastfeeding facts, debunking common misconceptions, highlighting helpful resources, and offering support for families at every stage of their feeding journey.

Whether you’re currently breastfeeding, expecting, pumping, combo feeding, supporting a loved one, or simply wanting to learn more, there’s something for everyone!

💬 Is there a topic you’d like us to cover this month? Drop it in the comments below! We’d love to hear your questions and create content that supports what matters most to you.

07/31/2026

⛈️ IMPORTANT EVENT UPDATE ⛈️

After a 12-year streak of sunshine, bad weather got the best of us this year! For safety reasons, our annual walk is officially canceled.

The good news? World Breastfeeding Month is still in full swing! ✨

Stay tuned right here on Facebook for more ways to participate, share your stories, and celebrate with us all month long.

Thank you for being such an incredible community! ❤️

07/31/2026