Elaine Campbell, IBCLC

12/11/2025

Had a great night at the LEO Dublin City Women in Business Network event. Thanks so much for a great presentation Aoife.
I love presentations based from evidence based research and that have numbers!

04/11/2025

New research reinforces what we already know:

Mother’s own milk is the gold standard.

Donor human milk comes next.

Human milk–derived fortifiers follow when extra nutrients are needed.

Human milk is a living tissue, rich with bioactive components that cannot be replicated in any lab. It protects, heals, and nourishes in ways science is only beginning to fully understand.

Because there is no true substitute for human milk.

Read more on new research around human milk fortifiers: https://elainecampbell.ie/2025/11/04/a-major-step-forward-in-understanding-the-power-of-human-milk/

25/10/2025

16/10/2025

Postpartum is a process. Maternity leave essential.

I love when a post puts something together beautifully better than I can

New research challenges long-held assumptions about how quickly the body recovers after childbirth.

While many medical guidelines suggest a six-week recovery period, recent studies show that full physiological and hormonal recovery can take a year or more. Scientists found that blood volume, tissue elasticity, nutrient reserves, and hormonal balance continue to shift for months after birth—indicating that the postpartum body remains in a state of repair and recalibration far longer than previously thought.

Beyond physical healing, neurological studies show that pregnancy reshapes the maternal brain, enhancing emotional sensitivity and empathy through structural changes that can last for years. This process represents a profound biological adaptation designed to strengthen connection, not a simple return to a pre-pregnancy state.

These findings highlight a truth long known in holistic traditions: creation requires restoration. The postpartum journey is not merely recovery—it is transformation, an evolution of both body and consciousness that deserves time, rest, and reverence.

07/10/2025

Today is the final day of Breastfeeding Week 2025.

The WHO’s current statistics say that the global average (2023):
48% of infants

06/10/2025

Day 6 of Irish Breastfeeding Week and Mental Health Awareness Month

Skin-to-Skin, Breastfeeding and Mental Health

October is Mental Health Awareness Month and also the month when we celebrate Irish Breastfeeding Week. This year’s theme of skin-to-skin contact speaks directly to the foundations of lifelong mental wellbeing for both mother and baby.

Skin-to-skin in the minutes and hours after birth is more than a moment of bonding. It triggers powerful hormonal cascades: oxytocin rises, stress hormones fall, and both mother and baby experience a sense of calm and connection. These early interactions help regulate the baby’s heart rate, breathing and temperature, while also lowering maternal anxiety and enhancing confidence in caregiving.

The benefits are not just immediate. Studies show that skin-to-skin and breastfeeding support secure attachment, which in turn is linked to reduced risks of postnatal depression for mothers and more resilient emotional health for children as they grow.

Breastfeeding builds on this foundation. Through the repeated cycles of closeness, eye contact, touch and responsiveness, babies learn trust and self-regulation while mothers gain confidence and support for their own emotional recovery after birth.

05/10/2025

05/10/2025

Day 5 Irish Breastfeeding week and Liver Cancer Awareness month.

Liver Cancer and Breastfeeding Maternal risk (for mothers):
* Breastfeeding appears to reduce the mother’s risk of developing liver cancer later in life.
* A large meta-analysis in 2017 (Zhou et al., Journal of Hepatology) found that women who breastfed had about a 26% lower risk of liver cancer compared to women who never breastfed.
* The protective effect increased with longer duration of breastfeeding: women who breastfed for more than 12 months showed the strongest reduction in risk.

Researchers suggest this may be due to:
* Lower lifetime exposure to oestrogen (similar mechanism as breast/ovarian cancer reduction)
* Improved metabolic reset after pregnancy and lactation (glucose and insulin regulation)
* Reduced chronic inflammation in the liver

Infant benefits (for babies)
* Exclusive breastfeeding reduces the risk of hepatitis B transmission from mother to child when appropriate immunoprophylaxis is provided (i.e. Hep B vaccine ± immunoglobulin). This is crucial because chronic Hepatitis B is a major global cause of liver cancer.

Breastfeeding is safe for mothers who are Hepatitis B positive if their infant receives the correct vaccination protocol.

Global burden of liver cancer: Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer death (WHO, 2022).

In Ireland, liver cancer is less common than in Asia or Africa, but incidence has been rising, linked to alcohol, obesity, diabetes and hepatitis infections.