I see this a lot. A mom finishes breastfeeding and then she posts on our wall or in a breastfeeding support group that she is leaving because she no longer belongs.
NO.
That is not true. Actually if you are totally done breastfeeding then you are the expert! You have so much valuable information to pass on to others. You have done it from beginning to end! No matter what happened during your journey you are sitting on some seriously helpful information for another mom. Please stay and connect with other moms. Pick your favorite breastfeeding group and stay! Be the mom that’s been there through it all.
My Mom on the right nursing my sister. Her sister (my aunt) on the left nursing my cousin. Both woman are deceased. The babies are 42 now. Pic from 1976. Photo shared by Virginia.
Moms are so isolated. We don’t have generations of breastfeeding support around us all the time. We have social media now. You can be that village elder that can support other moms. Whether it’s just some nice words or some information about how you handled a similar situation. You are needed.
Shannon’s and her siblings being breastfed by her mother in the 80’s. Photo shared by Shannon.
Someone somewhere along your breastfeeding journey helped you either a little or a lot. Someone saved your breastfeeding relationship altogether or simply said a positive word. Whether it was someone you knew or a stranger. You owe it to that person to stay. You can pay that forward by being a positive force in someone else’s breastfeeding journey.
Once a badass, always a badass.
Annie in 1978.
Vicky in 1994.
Phee in 2002.
Lindsay in 1998.
Kim in 1980.
Emily in 1986.
