The Natural Root Lactation

08/13/2026

Touch is not extra.
We often talk about touch as though it's something lovely we add after a baby's physical needs have been met.
Feed the baby.
Change the baby.
Keep the baby warm.
Put the baby to sleep.
Then cuddle them.
But biologically, those experiences were never so neatly separated.
A newborn arrives expecting another human body.
Warmth. Pressure. Smell. Movement. Voice. Skin.
Touch is sensory information.
Look closely at a baby breastfeeding.
The cheek against skin.
Hands touching and kneading.
Feet searching for stability.
The pressure and warmth of another body.
A familiar smell, voice, and heartbeat.
All while receiving nourishment.
What we call breastfeeding is so much more than a mouth obtaining milk from a breast.
It is a whole-body sensory experience, happening in relationship with another human body.
And that makes me wonder if we're sometimes asking too narrow a question.
Not only:
“Is this baby getting milk?”
But also:
“What is this baby's body experiencing while they eat?”
Because positioning is more than getting the mouth in the right place.
Holding is more than holding.
And touch is more than comfort.
It is part of the biology.

08/12/2026

United Healthcare and BCBS members should let their insurance companies know they need complete coverage for lactation support.

08/12/2026

I suppose it’s time I properly introduce myself. 🌱
I’m Christina Schaefer, BSN, RN, IBCLC. For more than 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of supporting parents and families through pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, postpartum, and the enormous transition that happens somewhere in between.
I’ve done this work as a nurse, IBCLC, doula, educator, peer - and sometimes simply as another human willing to sit beside someone and listen.
My clinical background matters deeply to me. So does evidence.
But experience has taught me that knowing the evidence and knowing how to care for a human being are not always the same thing.
I believe breastfeeding is biological, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy.
I believe babies are remarkably competent - but sometimes something gets in the way of their ability to do what their bodies are designed to do.
And I believe people deserve good information, support without judgment, and care that honors their goals, experiences, and intuition.
My work is about understanding the whole picture: the baby, the parent, the body, the birth, the feeding relationship, the family, the environment and the story that brought them into the room.
Sometimes that means assessing milk transfer, oral function, milk production, positioning, nutrition, recovery, pumping, or bottle feeding.
And sometimes the most important thing I do is slow everything down long enough for someone to recognize that they know more than they think they do.
After more than 15 years of doing this work, I’ve realized there is so much more I want to say about it.
About breastfeeding. Babies. Biology. Postpartum. Parent health. The transition into parenthood. And the systems we’ve built around all of them.
So I’m creating more space for those conversations here.
If you’ve been here awhile, thank you.
And if you’re new, welcome to The Natural Root. 🌱
We’re going back to the acorn.

08/08/2026

Maybe we’ve made breastfeeding more complicated than it needs to be.

Not because breastfeeding is always easy.
Not because pain or feeding dysfunction aren’t real.

But because somewhere along the way, we began teaching breastfeeding primarily as something we do to a baby rather than something a mother and baby are biologically organized to do together.

Look closely at this baby’s feet.

Those curled toes aren’t incidental.

This baby has contact.
Leverage.
Stability.

And from that stable body, the feeding behaviors we usually focus on—the head, jaw, lips and tongue—have a better foundation from which to work.

Newborn feeding isn’t just rooting, sucking and swallowing. Research into Biological Nurturing has identified a much broader constellation of primitive neonatal reflexes involving the baby’s head, hands, legs, feet and whole body. Position can either give those reflexes room to unfold or make the baby’s work harder.

And I keep coming back to something Oprah Winfrey wrote in What Happened to You?:

“The acorn contains the oak.”

If we want to understand breastfeeding, perhaps we need to go back to the acorn, too.

Back to biology.

Before pillows and positions and holds and instructions, there was a newborn body seeking another human body.

There was touch.
Gravity.
Warmth.
Pressure.
Movement.
Reflex.
Regulation.

Our job isn’t always to teach the baby how to breastfeed.

Sometimes our job is to create the conditions that allow the baby to show us what they already know.

And when a baby can’t do that?

That’s information.

Instead of pushing harder, holding tighter, or repeating “get a deeper latch,” we can become curious about what is preventing this baby’s body from doing the work it was designed to do.

That is where breastfeeding support becomes much more than latch instruction.

It becomes the study of the human being in front of us.

07/19/2026

I have a project I’m working on! Email me your most unhinged nursing, parent and baby photos. 🙏🏼

Proudest moments, darkest times, crazy positions (breastfeeding only, please 😵‍💫), raw footage, family forward, quiet moments, share worthy drama, support staff, or anything that YOU find endearing or valuable.

[email protected]

07/12/2026

♥️🙏🏼♥️

Meredith Van Ness Therapy and Coaching

07/09/2026

06/25/2026

It’s so very important to have parts that fit you well. I often find that people don’t know how good it can feel to pump! P.S. You’ll likely get more milk 😯

Measuring ni***es for pump fl**ges.
It's NOT just simply "use a smaller fl**ge".
It's finding the perfect fl**ge size, shape, and material for that side of the chest.

To read more on this, see our Blog! You've heard it here first...now is the reboot of the blog, but more posts (goal is weekly)...what are the questions you would like to see me answer in blog posts?

~ Jeanette

https://www.babiesincommon.com/blog/post/measuring-ni***es-just-a-minor-part-of-the-story

02/25/2026

😘

So many people are told, even by health professionals, that breastmilk is no longer nutritious or beneficial after 'insert random age here'

Not true!