Benzie-Leelanau WIC Breastfeeding Support

31/03/2026

There are many things you can do to help your body know that it needs to produce more breast milk. The most important thing you can do is feed your baby every time they are hungry and avoid keeping them on a schedule. Follow your baby’s cues and let them tell you when it’s time to eat!
https://wicbreastfeeding.fns.usda.gov/low-milk-supply

31/03/2026

A study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine looks at the relationship between breastfeeding in infancy and mortality in middle and late adulthood.

Read about the findings here: https://bit.ly/3FfoBeN

30/03/2026

26/03/2026

Is your baby ready to eat solid foods? 🥝🥕🥑

Every baby is different – but you can look for these 5 signs to tell that your baby is developmentally ready to start trying foods:

• Your baby has good head control
• Your baby can sit up with little or no support
• Your baby is able to grab objects
• Your baby shows interest in what others are eating
• Your baby is about 6 months old

If your baby can do ALL of these things, he or she is ready to try first foods.

Quick tip: talk to your child’s pediatrician or health care provider about any questions or concerns.

Looking for more ways to tell if your baby is ready for solids? Visit thousanddays.org

26/03/2026

Making healthy food choices while breastfeeding helps you feel energized, but there is nothing like a cup of coffee! Limiting your caffeine intake will reduce the chance of a fussy baby, but a cup or two of coffee is okay while breastfeeding. Learn more about making healthy choices here: http://ow.ly/1ApC50DEVtA

25/03/2026

True or False? If you're feeling under the weather, you should stop breastfeeding. FALSE! In fact, breastfeeding is encouraged. In many cases, the antibodies your body makes to treat your illness will pass on to your baby, helping your baby build their immune system.

24/03/2026

Reverse Pressure Softening (RPS) is a breastfeeding technique for engorgement, where you apply firm, inward pressure to the ar**la (around the ni**le) for 30-60 seconds, moving fluid back into the breast, making the ni**le softer and easier for the baby to latch, often combined with cool compresses and hand expression for severe swelling. This technique works by temporarily displacing fluid, creating a soft target for the baby, and is done just before feeding. For more info, visit: https://share.google/qCYNknCrF3WCfZny8

24/03/2026

At the first sign of engorgement, nursing, pumping, or hand expressing until the breast is comfortable again can help to avoid mastitis. This article looks at the symptoms and causes of mastitis, how to prevent it, and its treatment.

Breast inflammation is a relatively common condition affecting breastfeeding women encompassing a range of conditions such as engorgement, a blocked

23/03/2026

When a baby nurses at the breast, a vacuum is created within which the infant's saliva is sucked back into the mother's ni**le, where receptors in her mammary gland read its signals. This "baby spit backwash," contains information about the baby's immune status, causing the mother's breast milk to adjust its immunological composition.

If the mammary gland receptors detect the presence of pathogens, they compel the mother's body to produce antibodies to fight it, and those antibodies travel through breast milk back into the baby's body, where they target the infection.

23/03/2026

No one tells you it’s going to be this hard.
That you’ll feel responsible for their beating heart long after they have left your body.
That the very second they take their first breath will also be the day you’ll began to forever hold your own.
That their arrival will signal the last time you ever truly put yourself first.
That every thought process will have them in mind regardless of whether it relates to them directly or not.
That every decision forevermore will be carefully calculated as to not effect them detrimentally.
No one tells you your heart will physically ache so profoundly. From sadness, worry, angst but mostly love.
No one tells you how you may struggle through each stage only to be desperately sad once the milestone is accomplished.
That you’ll wish more than anything to return to yesterday. To go back for just one day.
To witness their first smile, revel in their first giggle and be serenaded by their very first coos.
That their cries will in turn cause tears of your own until you fall into a learned rhythm of togetherness.
No one tells you they’ll become your proudest achievements.
Your first priority. Your initial waking and final bedtime thoughts.
The greatest loves of your life.
No one tells you beforehand.
Maybe they do and we just don’t listen?
And that’s okay.
Because it’s worth it.
Because it wouldn’t change a thing.
Because we’re Mothers.

Written by Lacey Owen, contributing writer for The Motherhood Project.
Image by Krystal Hipwell.

19/03/2026

A groundbreaking study provides the first global quantification of breastfeeding’s role in preventing chronic diseases.

The data is stunning 📈 and the study reinforces what we have long advocated: breastfeeding protection, promotion, and support are lifesaving, cost-effective, and essential.

Read the full results here: https://bit.ly/49fcYEc

(Shared from 1,000 Days)