Breastfeeding Can Be Beautiful. It Can Also Be Hard. Let's Talk About Both.
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
Nobody really prepares you for how much of your day can revolve around feeding a newborn.
Feed the baby. Burp the baby. Change the baby. Try to put the baby down. Realize the baby wants to eat again.
If you're pumping, add washing parts, storing milk, labeling bottles, watching the ounces collect, and wondering whether you're pumping “enough.”
Meanwhile, you're hungry. Your body is healing. Your breasts may be sore. You're running on broken sleep. And everybody keeps asking how the baby is doing.
But how are you doing?
August is National Breastfeeding Month, and the 2026 theme is RISE: Resilience, Interdependence, Self-Determination, Empowerment.
It's a fitting theme because breastfeeding isn't only about milk.
It's about the mother producing it, the baby receiving it, the people supporting them, and whether our workplaces, healthcare systems, families, and communities make feeding a baby easier or harder.
So let's have a real conversation about breastfeeding.
First: You and Your Baby Are Learning Each Other
Breastfeeding may be natural, but that doesn't mean you automatically know how to do it.
Your baby is learning, too.
Those first days and weeks can involve a lot of trial and error. You may try different positions. Your baby may latch beautifully during one feeding and struggle during the next. Your breasts may feel different from one day to another.
And newborns eat a lot.
Frequent feeding doesn't automatically mean you're doing something wrong. Newborn feeding patterns can change throughout the day, and babies sometimes cluster feed, meaning they want to nurse repeatedly over a shorter period of time.
Still, you shouldn't have to sit at home wondering whether something you're experiencing is normal.
A lactation professional or healthcare provider can help you look at the whole picture, including your baby's latch, feeding pattern, weight, diaper output, and your comfort during feedings.
“Is My Baby Getting Enough?”
This can be one of the most stressful questions for a breastfeeding mom.
With a bottle, you can see exactly how many ounces your baby drank. At the breast, you can't.
So it's understandable to wonder.
Instead of judging your milk supply based only on how full your breasts feel or how much you're able to pump, pay attention to the bigger picture.
Your baby's healthcare provider can monitor weight gain, and your care team can also talk with you about wet and dirty diapers, swallowing during feeds, how often your baby is feeding, and how your baby behaves before and after feeding.
And remember: the amount you pump isn't always a perfect measurement of how much milk your baby can remove from your breast.
If you're worried about your baby's intake or weight, reach out. You don't have to spend three days Googling and worrying before asking someone to take a look.
Breastfeeding Shouldn't Mean Suffering Through Pain
Some tenderness can happen as your body adjusts to breastfeeding.
But severe, worsening, or ongoing pain deserves attention.
If every latch makes you tense up because it hurts so badly, say something.
Cracked or bleeding nipples, significant breast pain, a painful lump that isn't improving, redness or warmth, fever, chills, or feeling sick are all reasons to contact a healthcare professional.
Pain can have different causes, and figuring out what's happening is much more useful than simply being told to “push through.”
You are feeding your baby.
You are also a patient recovering from birth. Your body matters, too.
Your Support Person Has a Job Here, Too
Breastfeeding may happen at your breast, but that doesn't mean everything surrounding breastfeeding should fall on you.
Partners, family members, friends, and other caregivers can make a huge difference.
Bring her food she can eat with one hand.
Keep her water bottle full.
Wash bottles and pump parts.
Handle a diaper change.
Burp the baby after a feeding.
Take care of household tasks without waiting to be asked.
If she's pumping, learn how the pump works too.
If she's worried about something, listen instead of immediately telling her she's fine.
And if she finally gets the baby settled and closes her eyes?
Protect that nap like it's your job.
Because breastfeeding support isn't standing nearby saying, “You're doing great.”
Sometimes it's doing the dishes at midnight so she doesn't have to.
Black Breastfeeding Week: We All We Got
From August 25-31, 2026, we recognize the 15th anniversary of Black Breastfeeding Week.
This year's theme is WE ALL WE GOT: 15 Years of Community, Care, and Collective Power.
Black Breastfeeding Week matters because Black infant health matters, Black feeding experiences matter, and racial disparities in breastfeeding still require our attention.
It also reminds us that breastfeeding doesn't happen in isolation.
A Black mother can be committed to breastfeeding and still need access to knowledgeable lactation care. She may need an employer who respects pumping breaks. She may need a provider who listens instead of dismissing her concerns. She may need someone in her family who understands why protecting her feeding time matters.
That's where community comes in.
For 15 years, Black Breastfeeding Week has created space not only to discuss disparities, but to celebrate the Black parents, lactation professionals, doulas, birth workers, families, and community networks making breastfeeding support possible.
Here in Delaware, that conversation matters.
Supporting Black breastfeeding means moving beyond telling Black mothers what they should do and making sure they have the information, resources, choices, and community support to decide what works for themselves and their babies.
And If Breastfeeding Isn't Going the Way You Planned...
This part matters.
Maybe you imagined exclusively breastfeeding and now you're supplementing.
Maybe you're exclusively pumping.
Maybe your supply changed.
Maybe your baby has trouble latching.
Maybe a medical issue changed your plans.
Maybe breastfeeding is affecting you physically or emotionally in a way you didn't expect.
A feeding plan can change.
That doesn't erase the love, effort, time, or care you've already given your baby.
Self-determination - the "S" in this year's RISE theme - means parents need information and support to make feeding decisions that work for their bodies, babies, health, and circumstances.
Your feeding journey doesn't need to look like somebody else's Instagram post to be meaningful.
When You're Unsure, Ask
No mother should have to choose between suffering in silence and fearing the consequences of asking for support.
By talking openly about substance use disorder, mental health, and pregnancy, we can There are some questions Google simply shouldn't have to answer for you at 2 AM.
If you're concerned about your baby's feeding, weight, diaper output, latch, or behavior, contact your baby's healthcare provider.
If breastfeeding or pumping is painful or you're worried about your breasts, milk supply, medications, or another health concern, talk with your healthcare provider or a qualified lactation professional.
And if something feels wrong with you during postpartum recovery, don't dismiss yourself because you're busy caring for your baby.
Make the call.
Ask the question.
Tell someone what you're experiencing.
You don't need to wait until you're completely overwhelmed to reach out.
This Month, Let Mothers RISE
Resilience shouldn't mean suffering quietly.
Interdependence means recognizing that mothers need people around them.
Self-determination means trusting parents to make informed choices about their own feeding journeys.
Empowerment means giving families the information, resources, workplace protections, healthcare, and community support they need to make those choices possible.
That's what National Breastfeeding Month can remind us.
And if you're the mother reading this during a feeding, pumping session, contact nap, or one of those rare quiet moments when your baby finally went to sleep:
Drink some water.
Eat something.
Pay attention to what your body is telling you.
Write down the question you keep meaning to ask your provider.
And remember that you are part of this feeding journey, too.
Your baby needs care.
So do you.
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