When I had Jack and began to have major struggles with breastfeeding I took to the internet. Google became something that I resorted to day and night. My problem was that I had no idea what I was struggling with. I had read a few chapters in various parenting books about breastfeeding before he was born. I heard it was hard; OK, I can do hard things. I heard you need to relax; yeah, sure, what’s new. I heard things like refuse formula, don’t allow pacifiers, do skin to skin, etc. But when I was faced with the reality of my birthing experience–induction, epidural, exhaustion, episiotomy–I fell victim to nurses and doctors telling me that my son was starving, that I needed to give formula, that my milk supply would be fine. It wasn’t long before Jack wouldn’t latch, my supply was plummeting and I was terrified every moment of every day that I was failing. So when I desperately took to the internet I had no idea what I was looking for. I didn’t know what reputable resources were or not. What was good information or bad information? There is a ton of information out there that will make a troubled breastfeeding relationship much worse!
And let’s face it, Google doesn’t know either. It can’t read your mind or assess your problems or lead you to the correct information. What is Google going to do with the late night freak-out sessions where I just wanted to type in “why does my baby hate me?” or “what is wrong with this child?” or “why am I a terrible mother?” The reality is when you type these things in you get results. And you read them. Or even if you can identify a problem you are presented with thousands of articles, blog posts, news stories and so forth. How can any new mother decide what to read and what course of action to take? The internet has opened a new world. It is a wonderful world. But it can be overwhelming, and a new mother has enough of that without trying to be her own breastfeeding professional.
When I was presented with the Breastfeeding Solutions app by Nancy Mohrbacher I thought “An App? Aren’t we getting farther away from the solution to breastfeeding struggles?” Breastfeeding is a natural process that has become very unnatural as we evolve further into a world of isolation, technology and taboos. I had my doubts whether this would be useful. I have heard about other apps helping mothers to track feedings or weight gain, which sound undermining and ineffective right off the bat.
I downloaded the Breastfeeding Solutions app onto my Android device. As soon as I clicked on the icon I was brought to a sort of “decision tree.” It led me by the hand through my breastfeeding struggles. All I did was answer the leading questions. Each answer led me to more questions that I answered until I was brought to a carefully selected collection of reputable resources to help me. No trying to figure out the right words to type into Google. No sifting through thousands of articles. No guessing game about what is good information or bad information. And that’s it. My question answered.
Nancy Mohrbacher is a Lactation Consultant, speaker and author of several breastfeeding books for parents and professionals including The Breastfeeding Answer Book and Breastfeeding Solutions (the namesake and inspiration of the new app). She is a breastfeeding advocate and professional since 1982 who is passionate about bringing mothers correct and useful breastfeeding information. Her latest release, the Breastfeeding Solutions smartphone app, is available for Android and Apple devices via the iTunes store and Google Play store. When you get the app don’t forget to leave a review! In my opinion she hit this one out of the park. I wish I had it with my first child. I will be sure to have it with my second.
You can follow Nancy on her blog/website, Facebook, Pinterest and Youtube.
Abby Theuring, MSW
