08/30/2022
"When I started out on my journey to , I was incredibly focused on what motherhood would look like for my daughter and her generation. I wondered what would happen if no one took a dedicated stand for this cause. How far and how long would we go before mothers were given a voice to speak out against shame and discrimination? Especially about an issue that is the only natural form of sustenance and comfort we can offer our young.
I leapt into a valley of the unknown and took on a beast that I had no idea was a big or as gnarly as the political beast that governs the way we feed our babies. I found peace in discovering that the way we were created to feed was the ultimate comfort for our babies, yet I also found rage in the fact that the system was basically setting mothers up to fail.
It's taken six whole years for me to realize that my voice was so much stronger than any image I could ever capture. My experiences needed to be shared more than I needed to stand behind any lens. When I was on tour, more people were excited about what I had shared with them during my talk, versus raving over the photos I had captured. And not just my experiences of breastfeeding, but my experiences of talking to many women about the struggles that they faced in their lives too.
Being in this world of infant feeding, has taught me that if you really want to support parents you need to understand how to best help them and in order to know how to best help them you need to realize what motivates them to do what's necessary to achieve their feeding goals.
Breastfeeding is hard.
Breastfeeding can take months to learn how to do it right.
Breastfeeding requires focus and a positive mindset.
Breastfeeding is also our life force in postpartum.
Breastfeeding guarantees a full supply of oxytocin everyday.
Breastfeeding can also look different for everyone!
Breastfeeding can actually be pumping exclusively, bottle-feeding donor milk, and chestfeeding!
I've said it before and I'll say it again, "No matter how we feed our babies, support is best for us!"
What has motivated you to keep going? Lmk"
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