This week marked the worldwide Breastfeeding Week, and many people in Douglas may have noticed the new baby blue and light pink banners hanging on downtown light posts on behalf of the Breastfeeding Coalition. It is all part of a growing effort to normalize and lighten the stigma surrounding breastfeeding in public, not only in Douglas and Coffee County but throughout the United States. In Douglas alone, a community outreach initiative has secured 129 businesses and offices as “Breastfeeding-Friendly” premises, as indicated by stickers or signs that can be seen displayed at the businesses or offices. Breastfeeding is as natural as natural gets, which is why advocates are pushing to shed a positive light on the act. But as natural as breastfeeding is, it doesn’t always come naturally to new mothers.
Many mothers in Douglas and surrounding areas have likely met or spoken to Marla Miller at least once during or after their pregnancy. Marla currently works at the Tift Regional Medical Center as a certified lactation consultant, but she worked for over five years at the Coffee County Health Department as a peer counselor for breastfeeding.
Most mothers who received WIC or any assistance through the health department likely had been offered help with breastfeeding from Marla. After having breastfed seven of her own children, she is able to provide advice, tips, and hands-on assistance for struggling breastfeeding mothers. She herself had issues with breastfeeding when she had her first child and received very little assistance. When her daughter was born, the nurses handed her the child “like a baby burrito” and simply asked if she was breastfeeding or bottle feeding. There were no demonstrations, no advice, just the question. Marla told the nurses she would be breastfeeding, since she had seen it in all the birthing books. However, even having seen pictures in a book and getting advice from her mother, she had problems getting her premature infant to feed. After reading more books and struggling with it, she was finally able to get it to click and continued breastfeeding with each of her seven children.
Working through the health department, Marla has made many house calls, many hospital visits, and many phone calls to help those struggling with breastfeeding. In her classes that she instructed at the health department, expecting and new mothers were able to receive advice and have firsthand experience with breastfeeding when Marla was nursing her seventh child when she began the job. One of Marla’s students was Jennifer Leavins, who now owns Four C’s Tires in Pearson with her husband, and who had issues with breastfeeding with her first child but was able to conquer it through help from Marla and her classes. She now helps Marla with the Breastfeeding Coalition and any mother who needs help or guidance with nursing. Her business is a breastfeeding-friendly business, and the only business in Pearson that has become involved with the initiative so far.
Both Marla and Jennifer note that the number one way to assist those who desire to breastfeed is a strong support system and peer guidance. As a practice that was generally handed down from mother to mother, breastfeeding has always been relayed to new mothers from experienced mothers or grandmothers. However, a period of time where breastfeeding was discouraged and formula feeding was encouraged caused a gap between breastfeeding generations and a new perception of nursing babies. The goal of the Breastfeeding Coalition is to help transform public acceptance of breastfeeding so that new mothers who might feel alienated or ashamed to breastfeed in public can overcome that obstacle. The outreach initiative that has created 129 breastfeeding-friendly businesses in Douglas is in the works to become a state-wide program, a possibility that will be addressed in the coming months. Other issues the coalition confronts and hopes to someday change include working mothers’ rights to pump, breastfeeding-friendly cubicles that cut women off from the public, and hospital support for breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding or bottle feeding — this is a choice that a mother makes, and it is intimate and personal. Marla emphasized the importance of a mother’s right to choose. Whatever choice you make, she said, is the best for your child. For mothers that try to breastfeed and don’t succeed, the benefits of just one breastfeeding session are astounding. The Breastfeeding Coalition has a Facebook group, Mommies Making Milk Breastfeeding Coalition, and welcomes any new or expecting mother or anyone who is interested in breastfeeding to join. Marla welcomes phone calls or messages from anyone who needs help or has questions. The classes that Marla taught at the Coffee County Health Department are still currently being taught by certified lactating consultants. The Coalition and Marla thank the community and the local businesses for being so supportive of such an important issue to so many mothers and their babies.