Makes Milk with Emma Pickett: breastfeeding from the beginning to the end

Emma Pickett - Board Certified Lactation Consultant

A companion to your infant feeding journey, this podcast explores how to get breastfeeding off to a good start (and how to end it) in a way that meets everyone's needs.Emma Pickett has been a Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 2011. As an author (of 5 books), trainer, volunteer and breastfeeding counsellor, she has supported thousands of families to reach their infant feeding goals.Breastfeeding/ chest feeding may be natural, but it isn't always easy for everyone. Hearing about other parent's experiences and getting information from lactation-obsessed experts can help.

  1. 5d ago

    Alice's story - diabetes, feeding in pregnancy and a self-weaning journey

    This week I’m talking to Liverpool-based public health doctor Alice Lacey-Campbell about tandem feeding, breastfeeding an older child, and breastfeeding with type 1 diabetes. Alice shares how her nearly five-year-old, Asha, breastfeeds only occasionally now after a “false stop,” often for emotional regulation, and describes dry nursing through pregnancy when her milk dried up around nine weeks. We discuss why antenatal colostrum expression is recommended for diabetes, and Alice’s techniques. Alice recounts difficult inductions and emergency C-sections, early latching problems and tongue-tie with Asha, and a smoother breastfeeding establishment with five-month-old Kaida after a brief NICU stay, plus accidental gentle night-weaning and plans to return to work when Kaida is one. My picture book on how breastfeeding journeys end, The Story of Jessie’s Milkies, is available from Amazon here -  The Story of Jessie's Milkies. In the UK, you can also buy it from The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London. Other book shops and libraries can source a copy from Ingram Spark publishing. You can also get 10% off my books on supporting breastfeeding beyond six months and supporting the transition from breastfeeding at the Jessica Kingsley press website, by going to https://bit.ly/JKPbooks and using the code MMPE10 at checkout. Follow me on Instagram  @emmapickettibclc or find out more on my website www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com  This podcast is presented by Emma Pickett IBCLC, and produced by Emily Crosby Media.

    58 min
  2. Jun 8

    Emily's Story - OCD and breastfeeding as a midwife

    This week, I’m joined by the lovely Emily, a Norfolk midwife and mother to Effie (8 months). We’re talking about breastfeeding alongside significant perinatal mental health challenges. Emily describes exclusively breastfeeding, co-sleeping safely, and introducing solids carefully due to anxiety, then shares how pregnancy and early postpartum intensified OCD, contamination fears, and intrusive thoughts, alongside existing anxiety, depression, PTSD and PMDD. She recounts a planned home birth complicated by a postpartum haemorrhage, theatre treatment and a blood transfusion, plus early breastfeeding pain despite an apparently good latch, temporary nipple shield use, and support including craniosacral therapy. Emily also experienced antenatal and postpartum DMER, severe oversupply, and an unsettled baby, eventually using block feeding until supply stabilised around 12 weeks. She explains how NHS talking therapies helped her reframe fears, and discusses plans for returning to work as a midwife and aiming for natural-term weaning. My picture book on how breastfeeding journeys end, The Story of Jessie’s Milkies, is available from Amazon here -  The Story of Jessie's Milkies. In the UK, you can also buy it from The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London. Other book shops and libraries can source a copy from Ingram Spark publishing. You can also get 10% off my books on supporting breastfeeding beyond six months and supporting the transition from breastfeeding at the Jessica Kingsley press website, by going to https://bit.ly/JKPbooks and using the code MMPE10 at checkout. Follow me on Instagram  @emmapickettibclc or find out more on my website www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com  Resources  mentioned https://www.lucywebberfeedingsupport.com/workshops  This podcast is presented by Emma Pickett IBCLC, and produced by Emily Crosby Media.

    1h 7m
  3. Jun 1

    Dating and breastfeeding

    Dating while breastfeeding isn’t often talked about, so this week I’m joined by Frankie (29, Sheffield) and Anna (40, Lancashire) to talk about their experiences. They share candid ‘dating profiles’, then explore their breastfeeding lives and family situations: Anna recently weaned their five-year-old after nursing aversion began when their two-year-old was born, and they co-parent their youngest after two past relationships; Frankie is sole parent to her two-year-old, who breastfeeds frequently at night, with no contact or financial support from his biological father. They compare meeting partners through apps versus friends and in-person, when to disclose breastfeeding, childcare and co-sleeping constraints, and boundaries around introducing partners to children. They discuss partners’ reactions to lactation during intimacy, cultural discomfort with bodily functions, and the challenge of being seen as both a mother and sexy, ending with advice on building support networks, self-confidence, and not rushing dating. My picture book on how breastfeeding journeys end, The Story of Jessie’s Milkies, is available from Amazon here -  The Story of Jessie's Milkies. In the UK, you can also buy it from The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London. Other book shops and libraries can source a copy from Ingram Spark publishing. You can also get 10% off my books on supporting breastfeeding beyond six months and supporting the transition from breastfeeding at the Jessica Kingsley press website, by going to https://bit.ly/JKPbooks and using the code MMPE10 at checkout. Follow me on Instagram  @emmapickettibclc or find out more on my website www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com  This podcast is presented by Emma Pickett IBCLC, and produced by Emily Crosby Media.

    1h 1m
  4. May 18

    Jade's story - pregnant with HG and breastfeeding

    Sometimes, our plans for feeding don’t work out. That’s what happened to my guest this week, Jade Feeney from north west London. Jade had hoped to tandem feed, but ended up weaning her eldest daughter during pregnancy due to hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). She shares a “dream” first breastfeeding experience with her eldest, later identifying cow’s milk protein intolerance when weaning solids, but when she conceived again when her daughter was 18 months and developed severe HG, she required escalating anti-sickness medication, GP and triage support and months off work. She stopped feeding at around 22 weeks pregnant, after intense breastfeeding aversion, using a gradual countdown/tapering approach, and discusses the grief she felt alongside a feeling of relief. After an emergency caesarean, breastfeeding her younger daughter began well. Now 17‑months‑old, her youngest feeds very frequently, including overnight feeds and co-sleeping, and Jade has no plans to wean at present.  My picture book on how breastfeeding journeys end, The Story of Jessie’s Milkies, is available from Amazon here -  The Story of Jessie's Milkies. In the UK, you can also buy it from The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London. Other book shops and libraries can source a copy from Ingram Spark publishing. You can also get 10% off my books on supporting breastfeeding beyond six months and supporting the transition from breastfeeding at the Jessica Kingsley press website, by going to https://bit.ly/JKPbooks and using the code MMPE10 at checkout. Follow me on Instagram  @emmapickettibclc or find out more on my website www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com  Resources  mentioned Pregnancy Sickness Support | UK Charity https://pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk/ PANDAS Foundation UK https://pandasfoundation.org.uk/ This podcast is presented by Emma Pickett IBCLC, and produced by Emily Crosby Media.

    52 min
  5. May 11

    Jessica's story - a breastfeeding police officer

    This week, I’m speaking to the brilliant Jessica, a police officer in Stirling, Scotland, about combining breastfeeding with police work and shift patterns. Jessica shares life with her two daughters, Nora (nearly 10) and Harriet (nearly 2), describing responsive breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and how Harriet settles well for her father and grandmother when Jessica works rotating day shifts and back shifts finishing at 1am. They discuss Jessica’s earlier breastfeeding experience with Nora, which ended after a hospital admission and antibiotic treatment, and contrast it with Harriet’s birth, a home water birth followed by NICU admission for suspected infection. Jessica describes later tongue-tie issues resolved privately, returning to full-time frontline policing at 14 months without pumping, and reflects on managing risk, trauma, and the value of taking feeding and work transitions step by step.  My picture book on how breastfeeding journeys end, The Story of Jessie’s Milkies, is available from Amazon here -  The Story of Jessie's Milkies. In the UK, you can also buy it from The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London. Other book shops and libraries can source a copy from Ingram Spark publishing. You can also get 10% off my books on supporting breastfeeding beyond six months and supporting the transition from breastfeeding at the Jessica Kingsley press website, by going to https://bit.ly/JKPbooks and using the code MMPE10 at checkout. Follow me on Instagram  @emmapickettibclc or find out more on my website www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com  This podcast is presented by Emma Pickett IBCLC, and produced by Emily Crosby Media.

    53 min
  6. May 4

    Isabella's story - tandem feeding and tandem weaning

    Today  I’m talking to the lovely Isabella from near Vienna, Austria, about breastfeeding her two sons, Jonathan (2½) and Valentin (1). Isabella describes generally good breastfeeding support and mixed feeding norms in Austria, and how her early postpartum pain settled with midwife help. She became pregnant unexpectedly when Jonathan was 10 months old while using natural family planning, and assumed she should wean. She made several attempts but didn’t feel committed to a process that was complicated by bottle refusal and a lack of weaning information. After hearing positive tandem-feeding stories from this podcast, she resumed breastfeeding late in pregnancy when Jonathan was distressed and ill, then tandem fed after Valentin’s birth. This time lactation started easily and she managed nights with family bed-sharing and support from her husband. Isabella eventually weaned Jonathan gradually at 2, starting with night weaning and dropping “set” feeds, while continuing to breastfeed Valentin to this day. My picture book on how breastfeeding journeys end, The Story of Jessie’s Milkies, is available from Amazon here -  The Story of Jessie's Milkies. In the UK, you can also buy it from The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London. Other book shops and libraries can source a copy from Ingram Spark publishing. You can also get 10% off my books on supporting breastfeeding beyond six months and supporting the transition from breastfeeding at the Jessica Kingsley press website, by going to https://bit.ly/JKPbooks and using the code MMPE10 at checkout. Follow me on Instagram  @emmapickettibclc or find out more on my website www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com  Resources mentioned -  Loving Comfort book in English (und auf Deutsch) https://www.juliedillemuth.com/loving-comfort  This podcast is presented by Emma Pickett IBCLC, and produced by Emily Crosby Media.

    58 min
4.6
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

A companion to your infant feeding journey, this podcast explores how to get breastfeeding off to a good start (and how to end it) in a way that meets everyone's needs.Emma Pickett has been a Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 2011. As an author (of 5 books), trainer, volunteer and breastfeeding counsellor, she has supported thousands of families to reach their infant feeding goals.Breastfeeding/ chest feeding may be natural, but it isn't always easy for everyone. Hearing about other parent's experiences and getting information from lactation-obsessed experts can help.

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