In this episode, Stacy and Sarah tackle a number of breastfeeding questions from the queue, chat about the safety of kombucha while pregnant and breastfeeding, and share many tips that range from supply increasing to pump session eliminations.
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The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 60: Breastfeeding & Weaning
0:00 – Introduction
0:52 – News & Views
Last week’s micronurtrient show was a lot of fun with the Caltons – check it out if you haven’t yet!
Stacy is getting ready to do Barbells for Boobs, and you can find information here if you want to donate towards this great cause that provides free mammograms for those who can’t afford them
The Paleo Parents also recently launched a newsletter – subscribe if you haven’t yet!
Stacy and Sarah have some serious love for cranberries and Stacy recommends that folks check out her pork stuffing recipe from Beyond Bacon, which happens to feature cranberries
Sarah gives a Happy Thanksgiving shout out to her fellow Canadians
This week’s show is about boobs, breastfeeding and weaning
Stacy is a breastfeeding advocate with a wealth of information from being a very active member of La Leche League
Sarah also has a lot of experience from her years of breastfeeding her daughters, her aunt was also a lactation consultant
(12:52) Science with Sarah – The Health Benefits of Kombucha
Most of the health claims about kombucha have little to no evidence to support the claims
However, since kombucha is a fermented beverage with probiotics there are health benefits from the beneficial yeast and bacteria strains
You will also get a wide variety of unique strains of good bacterias, which benefit your overall health
The only metabolite of kombucha that may be of concern to a pregnant woman is the alcohol content, which a serving on average has between 0.5% to 2/3%
A non-alcoholic beer has 0.5% alcohol, so if you are having half a glass a day you are within your daily safety limits – but you have to make that personal conscious decision on what feels right for you
As a breastfeeding woman that level of alcohol is considered to be a non-issue because the alcohol content is diluted
It would take some work to get drunk off of the alcohol content in kombucha, and the trace amount in breastmilk is considered to be safe
If you are buying your kombucha from stores those are quality controlled and you are not being exposed to bad bacteria
If you are making your own kombucha it is important to check home-brew resources to understand how a SCOBY would mildew and how to prevent it from happening
(21:14) Questions & Answers
Jessica – What are alternative options to formula when one is dealing with low supply?
Please be sure to listen to previous podcasts where this topic is also discussed: episode 4, episode 33
Stacy notes that breastfeeding is very personalized and is driven by society and what medical experts can help you with, please be sure to surround yourself with supportive people both in a professional capacity and in your friends and family circles
Stacy’s common suggestions regarding supply would be stress management, adequate sleep, increased fat consumption, omega 3 rich foods, teas like Mother’s Milk, grain-free lactation cookies
It sounds like Jessica did all of these things, but it sounds like there was a genuine medical situation in this case that may be impacting her ability to increase supply
The only medical condition that Stacy is familiar with that impacts milk supply is thyroid conditions, and Stacy suggests looking to Practical Paleo on how to address thyroid issues
Stacy notes that if your baby has a latch issue that is impacting supply, there are tube systems to help you through the latch challenges
The Westin A. Price Foundation has some recipes for homemade formula
From Stacy’s experience, the flavor variations from the homemade recipes are of benefit to how your child develops their eating habits later in life
Circling back on the thyroid medical concern, Sarah is not sure if a thyroid condition is the only thing that can impact milk supply, but it is a candidate
If there is a low thyroid function the autoimmune protocol would be a good route to explore
Sarah recommends pastured egg yolk, grass-fed ghee and lots of seafood (check this post from Sarah on mercury content) for those who are dealing with an autoimmune condition while pregnant
Stacy reminds Jessica to be proud of all the effort you put in and to remember that you did the very best you could – your child can still lead a healthy life
Like all things in life, be positive and find what things you can impact, like first foods, etc.
(38:18) Kelly – how do hormones from breastfeeding impact adult acne? How do the hormones impact menstruation?
Sugar may be causing the breakouts, which is a common issue that people face, it may help to eliminate sugar first
Getting your baby enough milk is your biggest priority, so focus your elimination diet priorities so that you still get the abundance of micro and macronutrients that you need to keep your supply strong and rich in nutrients
Sarah notes that there could be a hormone connection – so many things change during and after pregnancy from the hormone fluctuations, and the hormones could be impacting food sensitivities, the functioning of the immune system and the strength of the gut barrier
Unfortunately there is not a good way to test what is causing your experiences other than dabbling in elimination dieting
Stacy has shared on her hormonal changes from weaning and you can find that post here
(49:40) Heather – what liquids should I provide my baby as I cut back on her breastmilk intake?
Stacy and Matt replaced breastmilk with water, the kids never received anything other than breastmilk in a bottle
Eleven months may be a little too young to wean because babies still rely on breastmilk at that age to meet all their nutrient needs
You could try bone broth in a sippy cup for more nutrients
In the beginning, Stacy and Matt put a very tiny bit of apple juice in the water to relate the flavor to the sweetness of breastmilk while transitioning them to drink water
If you are taking breastmilk out of the equation, make sure you are adding things into the baby’s diet that replace the nutrient density of breastmilk (think super foods like organ meats)
Sarah notes that there is a societal expectation to wean at a year and Sarah encourages Heather to explore extended breastfeeding benefits and baby-led weaning to see if it could work for her family
Stacy suggested eliminating the at-work pump sessions first, to cut down nursing time to night only so that her baby will still receive the breastmilk benefits
When Sarah weaned her older daughter they dealt with a challenging case of thrush, whereas her younger daughter gave up breastfeeding without any difficulties – both of Sarah’s kids were over two years old when they weaned
(1:03:24) The reviews in iTunes are awesome and Stacy and Sarah love them!
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In this episode, it’s the first part of our first live show! We take live …
About The Whole View Podcast Production Team
The Whole View Podcast is co-hosted by Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD of ThePaleoMom.com and Stacy Toth of RealEverything.com. Matthew McCarry (the other half of RealEverything.com) produces the podcast. Our team members also help with various aspects of production, like the creation of these Show Notes and shareable graphics.
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