Benzie-Leelanau WIC Breastfeeding Support

11/13/2025

Don't let social media posts about enormous freezer stashes with hundreds of ounces freak you out! You don't need a bunch of milk (or any milk in some cases) in the freezer to breastfeed your baby.

11/13/2025

The Baby Pantry at St. Philip's Episcopal Church-Beulah, MI is open on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. Their next pantry day is this Saturday, November 15th, from 10-3pm.

Curbside Pick-up Order Form: https://stphilipsbeulah.org/curbside-pick-up-order-form/

11/12/2025

Oxytocin is often referred to as the love hormone. Produced by the hypothalamus and excreted by the pituitary, it plays key roles in emotional attachment, birth, and lactation.

❤️ Emotional Attachment: When we love someone, oxytocin is released, allowing us to emotionally bond deeper, protect fiercely, and empathize stronger with that individual.

❤️ Birth: Oxytocin is what is behind the powerful surge to uterine contractions during the birth process. It is also released while birthing the placenta and helps limit postpartum bleeding.

❤️ Lactation: Breast stimulation, either by a suckling baby or breast pump/hand expression, triggers the release of oxytocin. It's release causes the breast alveoli (milk storage within the breast) to contract (milk ejection reflex), releasing milk into the breast ducts.

11/12/2025

November is American Diabetes Month.

* Did you know that breastfed babies have a lower risk of developing type 1 diabetes? Also, babies that are breastfed are at a lower risk for becoming overweight or obese later in life, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.

* Breastfeeding can also lower a mother’s risk of type 2 diabetes, because breastfeeding helps moms to control their blood sugar.

To learn more about breastfeeding and diabetes, visit: https://diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/pregnancy/diabetes-breastfeeding

11/10/2025

Did you know that your breast milk is made from your blood? The food you eat and the water you drink do not magically go directly to your breast milk. What you eat and drink goes first to your stomach to be broken down and then into your intestines to be absorbed and processed. Your digestive system breaks nutrients into parts small enough for your body to absorb and use for energy, growth, and cell repair. The muscles of the small intestine mix food with digestive juices from the pancreas, liver, and intestine. Special cells in the walls of the small intestine absorb water and the digested nutrients into your bloodstream. Your blood carries molecule-sized components such as simple sugars (carbohydrates), amino acids, white blood cells, enzymes, water, fat, and proteins throughout your body. As blood passes by the breasts, milk glands pull out these nutrients for milk production and pass some of them to your baby. Not all molecules are small enough to pass through into milk. (That’s why some medications are safe to take while breastfeeding and some are not. Molecules that are too big can’t get into the milk while really small molecules can.)

Nuts, seeds, beans, and grains all have plant based proteins. Meat and dairy are animal based proteins. Both plant and animal proteins carried in your blood can make it into your milk. Sometimes these proteins can affect baby’s digestive system, causing symptoms like reflux, gas, colic, and blood or mucus in the poops from iritations to baby’s intestinal lining. Diary proteins are the most common cause of upset in the stomach, however research suggests that the proportion of exclusively breastfed infants who are actually allergic to something in their mother’s milk is very small. (https://bit.ly/3rFHotE). Fussiness and gas alone are not enough to diagnose a cow milk protein allergy.

In general, there are NO foods that need to be avoided because you’re breastfeeding. Every baby is different in the foods they are sensitive to. IF your baby always seems to have a reaction when you eat a certain food or a large amount of a certain type of food, cutting back on it or cutting it out temporarily may be helpful.

11/10/2025

HOT TOPIC: PACED BOTTLE FEEDING

Paced bottle feeding is very helpful for all babies being fed with bottles, but especially those going between breast and bottle. This method of bottle feeding helps to slow the flow from the bottle and better simulate the way milk comes from the breast. It can reduce overeating and spit-up as well. For a demonstration of paced bottle feeding, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGPm5SpLxXY&t=10s

11/06/2025

Ever wondered how milk actually leaves the breast? It’s not one big opening! It’s 5 to 8 tiny ones, each with its own little valve that controls the flow. Your body knows exactly what it’s doing. Every drop is made and released with purpose. ~ La Leche League Canada

11/04/2025

"The findings show that mothers who have skin-to-skin contact with their babies in the first hour after birth are more likely to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months of the baby's life."

Immediate skin-to-skin contact between newborns and their mothers offers a better start in life, improving a number of key health metrics, according to a newly-updated Cochrane review.

11/04/2025

🍼 When it comes to refrigerating breast milk, timing is everything! Whether you're a first-time parent or a seasoned pro, this information will ensure that your liquid gold stays fresh and nutritious for your bundle of joy. 💛

For more information on safety and storage, visit: https://bit.ly/4etCXaB

11/03/2025

Opioid overdose is the #1 cause of death in adults aged 50 years and younger. If you're a parent addicted to opioids during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, treatments are available to help you reach recovery and protect your baby!

https://infantrisk.com/content/medication-assisted-treatment-opioid-use-disorder-pregnancy-and-breastfeeding

11/03/2025

Your baby’s saliva talks to your body.
If they’re sick, your milk strengthens.
If they’re thirsty, it changes.
If they need comfort, it adapts again.
It’s not “just milk.”
It’s a conversation only the two of you can have.
~Breastfeeding Mama Talk