La Leche League
Harriet Rudd, Mothers At Home Matter Member and breastfeeding counsellor (LLL Volunteer Leader) with La Leche League explains what the breastfeeding support organisation does to promote healthy babies and mothers.
Many mothers have heard of La Leche League (LLL). Some have benefited from their support and others may not be entirely sure of what they do. In my opinion, the two organisations have one great thing in common: valuing mothers and their role within the family and wider society. Both LLL and Mothers At Home appreciate their presence as vital for the wellbeing of their children and recognise that mothering is intense physical and emotional labour which deserves support at every level: family, community, medical and political.
I had known about La Leche League with my first two sons, but a combination of nervousness about picking up the phone and a feeling that I needed to prove I could manage on my own meant that I did not get in touch. When I had problems breastfeeding my third child I finally cracked! And of course, I got such a warm welcome. LLL was a source of compassionate, unjudgemental support that I wished I had had with my first two sons.
As our breastfeeding relationship continued and my baby grew older, I was drawn back to La Leche League to find the company of mothers who, like me, were breastfeeding a toddler. This gave me strength, even when I had had enough and was on the verge of giving up. LLL was there to soothe my frayed nerves and my exhausted body and to understand the value of what I was doing with all the emotional upheavals of early motherhood.
Click here to link to the La Leche League website
History
La Leche League International (LLLI) is recognised by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a world expert in the field of breastfeeding. There are over 5,000 La Leche League Leaders worldwide in over 80 countries and on every continent except Antarctica. LLL groups all provide mother to mother breastfeeding support.
The unusual title (Leche is Spanish for milk) was chosen because the word ‘breastfeeding’ was considered taboo in America in the 1950s, when the organisation was set up. La Leche League was founded in 1956 by a group of seven friends who had noticed when they were breastfeeding their babies, that other mothers expressed interest or told them how they had wanted to breastfeed their babies but had ‘failed’.
Breastfeeding was not encouraged or widely practised at the time and they realised that there was a gap in care for women who wanted to breastfeed and needed information. They started running meetings with the affiliation of two doctors (including one of the founders’ husbands) who were able to help when medical information was needed, giving added legitimacy to their cause.
Many women who had been told that they needed to stop breastfeeding by their doctor for one reason or another attended these meetings. In most cases, LLL was able to recommend that breastfeeding should continue, sparing mother and baby much anguish.
La Leche League, which started as a grassroots organisation, began to challenge the medical establishment on breastfeeding, enabling women to feel more confident about their own judgement and instincts. Now, 65 years later, many of the LLL recommendations have become normal practice within medical establishments, such as such as skin to skin for uninterrupted bonding and feeding within the first hour after birth for establishing a good milk supply.
Philosophy
La Leche League is a philosophy-based organisation. This philosophy revolves around 10 concepts and here are three of my favourites:
‘In the early years, the baby has an intense need to be with his mother which is as basic as his need for food.’
This concept acknowledges intense attachment needs of babies who are hard-wired in their DNA to be cared for by their mother (or primary care giver) all the time in the early years. Their survival literally depends on it.
Raising babies in a culture which prizes independence over interdependence, can leave mothers and families feeling torn between following their instincts (what they feel is best for their child) and conforming with cultural expectations.
In this atmosphere where early separation of mother and baby is encouraged (for political and economic reasons) and is seen as normal or even good for the child, LLL philosophy recognises the distress that separation can cause to both mother and child when they are not yet ready for it.
This distress can have a lifelong impact on the child’s mental health and also on the mother-child relationship. LLL recognises that once children’s intense need to be with their mother has been met, they will naturally move to the next stage of development with confidence and a knowledge that their mother is always there for them to come back to, should they need her.
‘Mothering through breastfeeding is the most natural and effective way of understanding and satisfying the needs of the baby.’
This concept recognises that breastfeeding is not just a means of delivering food to a baby; it is also a relationship (a physical demonstration of love from mother to baby and baby to mother) and a mothering tool, which can be as useful for calming an over-stimulated toddler, as for feeding a hungry baby. Breastfeeding is like a conversation and a dance between mother and baby: Over time, these little micro-interactions and adjustments build an attuned, responsive bond.
At an LLL meeting where I asked the group of mothers why they chose to breastfeed and what it meant to them, none of them mentioned the nutritional value of breastmilk as the first reason. Most said they chose breastfeeding because it was a way to soothe their babies and to meet all of their needs for love, comfort and security. In meeting those needs, the nutrition takes care of itself.
In our culture there are many barriers to breastfeeding, such as the sexualisation of breasts and the shaming of feeding in public and of feeding older babies and toddlers. Women are told that ‘breast is best’, yet they are not supported to breastfeed. If breastfeeding fails, they blame themselves, when in fact it is not their fault. It is a society-wide and governmental responsibility. This is why Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative has launched the campaign to ‘Change the Conversation around breastfeeding’ in the UK. Watch their call to action video here.
‘Human milk is the natural food for babies, uniquely meeting their changing needs.’
We are learning more and more about the amazing properties of human milk, including hormones, growth factors, stem cells, living immunity, brain developing enzymes, as well assists anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial qualities. For more information, watch this beautiful Human Milk advert:
Yet, despite the fact that we know that breastmilk is the perfect food for our babies, many health professionals who work with mothers and babies have little training on breastfeeding (maybe just a few hours or days out of a whole degree course). This includes GPs, paediatricians and midwives. This lack of training can send a message to mothers that breastfeeding is not valued, or that formula feeding is equally good, and it doesn't equip health professionals to provide breastfeeding support adequately.
Until very recently, medical research around infant feeding was funded by formula milk companies who often had direct access to doctors and to new mothers for the purpose of marketing their artificial milk products. The formula milk industry is a multi-million dollar business and, ultimately, they do not have the health of the baby and mother at heart; they answer to their shareholders.
Advertising of formula milk was banned when the WHO code (International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes) was adopted in the UK, but formula milk companies got around the ban by inventing follow-on milk for babies aged six months and above, which they are still allowed to advertise. They cleverly made the packaging almost identical to the first milk packaging, so that they are still effectively advertising the first milk by default.
The last Infant Feeding Survey carried out in 2010 showed exclusive breastfeeding at six weeks in England to be 24% and at six months to be 1%. This is in stark contrast to the WHO’s recommendation to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, continuing alongside solid foods for at least two years.
A Lancet report in 2015 showed that if all mothers in the UK breastfed exclusively for just three months, the NHS would save £50 million pounds each year (on doctors appointments, medications and hospital admissions due to preventable common child health problems). A significant saving.
Mother holding her baby
La Leche League GB today
Leaders are all volunteers who have breastfed or are breastfeeding their children and who have gone through an accreditation process focused on breastfeeding support and counselling skills. We currently have 234 volunteer Leaders nationwide.
LLL is not a pressure group. We support mothers who want to breastfeed (and those who are supporting them). LLL Leaders aim to meet each mother and family where they are on their journey, whether they want to breastfeed for 3 weeks, 3 months or 3 years. We also support women who are grieving having stopped breastfeeding for whatever reason and hold non-judgemental space for a mother’s feelings as she processes her emotions and moves to the next stage.
We host breastfeeding support meetings and social meetings, mostly virtually now since COVID, but slowly returning to in person. We provide parents with evidence-based information around breastfeeding. We aim to create a space where breastfeeding is the norm and we encourage mothers in our groups to support each other as sharing of experiences can be so helpful.
La Leche League GB has a fantastic website with easy to read Breastfeeding Information sheets on every topic from ‘Adjusting to Motherhood’ to ‘Is My Baby Getting enough Milk?’. Interested mothers can join a local group on Facebook, where Leaders answer questions, offer support through evidence-based information and post meeting links.
I hope this little introduction to LLL has shed some light on the charity, its background and the work Leaders do to support mothers and families. It is my wish that our societal structures will one day be centred on the practical and emotional needs of parents and their children, so that they feel supported and cherished in all their choices at every stage.
Click here to link to La Leche League
LLLGB offers skilled breastfeeding support and information for all ages and stages, from pregnancy to weaning. www.laleche.org.uk
Facebook: @breastfeedinglllgb
Twitter: @LLLGB
Instagram: @lalecheleague_gb
Contact: publicrelations@laleche.org.uk