Sarah Kellogg Neff, CEO of The Lactation Network, joins ChedHER to discuss how they are expanding access to lactation support for families nationwide, and some of the struggles new families face during the fourth trimester.

chedHER

The State of Lactation Support in the U.S.

our next guest is making it her mission to change this time for the better and redefine how we think about and talk about breastfeeding joining us now is Sarah Kellogg neth ceo of the lactation network. Sarah, what is the mission of the lactation network? And how are you helping families across the US? Yeah thank you so much for having me. So at the lactation network we believe that every family deserves expert insurance covered lactation carer. And so in terms of how we're helping to deliver that care and to make that mission real. We are the largest network of international board certified lactation consultants or lactation consultants L. C. S for short or the largest network in the nation. We have lactation consultants practicing in 48 states plus the district of Columbia. And in addition to that expert care, we also offer insurance covered breast pumps, accessories, products, really anything that a family might need along the breastfeeding journey. And so you know whether a family is expecting or maybe they just got home from the hospital or maybe a mom is getting ready to go back to work. You know really any moment along that breastfeeding journey, we're there to help. He used to break down the current state of lactation support here in the US. Yeah so right now 85% of American families intend to breastfeed and in fact do initiate breastfeeding shortly after giving birth But only 25% are still exclusively breastfeeding at the six month mark. And so that means that not only are 60% of families missing their own feeding goals, But 75% of American families are missing out on the significant preventative health benefits that flow from breastfeeding for at least six months. And those benefits by the way, floating not one but two people a mother and baby. And so what we've seen and what the surgeon general has confirmed as well is that the reason for that drop off is the gap in expectations and where the gap between expectations and reality when it comes to the breastfeeding experience and closing that gap is really why the lactation network exists now. You are of course a mission driven company. So I'm curious what kind of impact have you had to date? Yeah. So when we think about impact, we think about it in a number of ways, as you might imagine one is of course reach how many families are we able to help? And at this point we're helping thousands of families every month along their breastfeeding journeys. And that that number is growing month over month. We've helped 10s of thousands of families throughout our history. But we also think about the impact in terms of outcomes right? Like is the care that we are delivering actually helping families meet their own goals. And I'll come back to that 25% stat, you know, only 25% of families are still exclusively breastfeeding across the country. But when it comes to lactation network patients, 70% of TLN patients actually make it to that six month mark and more than half make it at least 12 months. And so we know that the expert care that we are delivering is making a difference for families everywhere. You know, a moment ago you spoke spoke about kind of the goals that families have with lactation and a lot of families missing that goal. I'm curious what are some of the biggest challenges that mothers are facing in their fourth trimester specifically? Yeah. You know, I think so much of it comes down to expectations. You know, we have this idea that, you know, breastfeeding is natural. It's the most natural thing that can happen in the family. And the reality is simply because breastfeeding is natural. That does not mean that it's easy. And so really, I think families struggle with that reality because you know, we know that 93% of families struggle with breastfeeding within the first three days of coming home from the hospital. And so again, that's that gap between what families expect and what they actually encounter. And so they encounter challenges with, you know, securing an effective latch or inducing milk supply or really the ultimate question that we hear the most often, which is, is my baby getting enough milk. And so I think when families encounter those incredibly common challenges, they don't know that they're common. And so they tend to struggle in silence, they're ashamed. They feel like something's wrong with them, They feel like they're broken and that couldn't be further from the truth. And so they don't think to ask or they do think to ask, but they don't know that help is out there. And so that's something that you know that we want every family to know everywhere, that there is expert insurance cover care and we're here to help. So to that end, how are you hoping to essentially redefine the way that we talk about the way that we think about and certainly approach feeding our Children? Yeah. So I think one of the biggest ways we can change that experiences to talk about it and the reality is conversations like this one go a long way to change the conversation because we're having a conversation at all. When we think about the content and how we want to think about breastfeeding, I'll come back to the point which is just because breastfeeding is natural, that does not mean it's easy. Most families encounter struggles and they encounter them right away within days of coming home from the hospital. And so that really is why not only do most families not make it to six months, many families quit within the first two weeks. And so that's something that I want to start to change the conversation on is to say, hey, you're not alone, you're not broken. Help is out there. The challenges you're facing are completely normal. And another way to think about it differently is, you know, much like parenting breast feeding is a skill and it's one that needs to be learned and there is a learning curve and kevin grace and patience with yourself and knowing that there's help out. There is another way that you can change the conversation. Well, I'm glad we're able to have the conversation right here on cheddar. Thank you for the work you're doing and really for being here Sarah Keller, chef Ceo of the Lactation Network.