04/08/2026
As we mark World Breastfeeding Week, I'm resharing a post from last year because my thoughts haven't changed.
This little boy is still happily breastfeeding, and his cousin also has a wonderful breastfeeding relationship with her mum. I feel incredibly blessed to have welcomed two grandchildren just four months apart and to have watched them both thrive.
Sadly, skilled breastfeeding support is still far too difficult for many mothers to access. Every week I hear advice that is outdated or simply incorrect.
Only yesterday I supported a mother whose baby wasn't gaining weight well. She had been told to keep her baby on just one breast for each feed. For a baby who is struggling to gain weight, advice like this can reduce milk intake and miss the opportunity to maximise milk transfer.
Breastfeeding isn't one-size-fits-all. Mothers deserve individual, evidence-based support from people with the knowledge and skills to help them meet their goals.
This World Breastfeeding Week, let's keep advocating for better breastfeeding support, better education, and better outcomes for mothers and babies.
Why I Struggle With World Breastfeeding Week
The theme for World Breastfeeding Week 2025 is, once again, focused on the importance of supporting breastfeeding and creating environments where it can thrive. The message is clear: breastfeeding is natural, sustainable, and crucial for both human and planetary health. It’s a sentiment I agree with wholeheartedly.
And yet… we’ve been having this conversation for decades.
I first became aware of World Breastfeeding Week 20 years ago, after the birth of my fourth child. Since then, I’ve spent the last 15 years as an IBCLC, supporting families through every imaginable lactation journey. Despite all the campaigns, posters, hashtags, and global messaging, what strikes me most today is how little has changed on the ground.
The only reason my own daughter has been able to successfully breastfeed is because of the support she received from our family and from the wonderful community of “b**bie friends” she’s found. The hospital where she gave birth did not help her. They didn’t even acknowledge her baby’s true first feed—recording it as a breastfeed when it was, in fact, a bottle of formula. She was discharged formula-feeding. It was through her own sheer determination and the support around her that she’s now exclusively breastfeeding. And I am so, so proud of her.
But what about all the women whose mothers are not lactation consultants?
The truth is, we are still failing parents through inadequate staffing, lack of skilled support, and inconsistent training in maternity and postnatal care. We talk about the “Warm Chain” of breastfeeding support, but far too often, that chain has broken links at the most critical points right at the start.
This is one of the reasons I have mixed feelings about World Breastfeeding Week. For many of us who support infant feeding year-round, it can feel like déjà vu, saying the same things, year after year, while watching systemic issues go unaddressed.
We don’t need more awareness. We need action. We need properly trained staff, protected time, sustainable investment, and real accountability. Until that happens, these global messages will remain just that—messages.
Photo taken today with baby climbing his first Wainright with his mummy, aunt, uncle and 2 of the dogs
