It's no secret that we're big supporters of Breastfeeding at Barefoot Birth. In fact, as of this World Breastfeeding Week, all of our members (save for the amazing Wes) are Certified Lactation Counselors (CLC). To say that our own experiences with breastfeeding, both as mothers and as service and care providers, have been life-shaping is an understatement.

I had the honor to walk along side these ladies during their last pregnancies and attend Emily's home birth of her sweet boy Marlin. It is so special to see mamas get together and start something awesome! Even though I am a CLC myself- it can be difficult to provide the one on one lactation support a new mama can need when I am busy taking care of the midwifery side of things. These ladies have stepped up to the plate when our clients needed some extra support and we are so happy to share their talents with y'all! 

By now, every doctor and parent in America has heard the news: breastfeeding is best for babies. What's not-so-old news is the growing body of evidence demonstrating that commercial infant formulas are simply not good enough. While commercial infant formulas are commonly perceived to be the medically recommended second-choice infant food after breastfeeding, the World Health Organization (WHO) actually states: "The second choice is the mother's own milk expressed and given to the infant in some way. The third choice is the milk of another human mother. The fourth and last choice is artificial baby milk." The quality of infant formula is of paramount importance in the United States--where, despite the American Academy of Pediatrics' endorsement of breastfeeding for a minimum of twelve months and WHO's recommendations to breastfeed for at least two years--only slightly more than half of all mothers offer their newborns any breast milk at all. Fewer than twenty-two percent of American babies are still breastfed at five months of age, and this figure drops to under ten percent by twelve months. These statistics mean that the vast majority of American babies rely solely on the synthetic infant nutrition known as infant formula for their critical first year of life.