Breastfeeding 101

I am Leslie Ott and I am a young women on a crusade!

When I gave birth to my first child, a little girl I named Ella, I was told I couldn't breastfeed her, I was told I couldn't produce enough milk. It was a devastating experience feeling inadequate to feed my own baby. As a young 21 year old at the time it was expected by everyone around me that I would just take it without a fight and formula feed. Times were tough considering in our culture, we do not grow up around our grandmothers and mothers breastfeeding in to a babies toddler years naturally learning the tips and tricks for overcoming hard times, but I succeeded despite feeling as if there was no one who understood me and worrying about what those around me were thinking every time I nursed in public.

I feel incredibly blessed to have now succeeded in my breastfeeding experience now that my daughter is a year old and still nursing. Along with feeling so blessed I also felt an anger. Anger towards the fact that many girls have also been in my position listening to the opinion of their pediatricians, society & family treating breastfeeding latch issues, etc with formula supplementation and leaving us to feel we failed at breastfeeding because formula seems to do a better job.

This struggle and my daughter inspired me to get an education in lactation which I did from UCSD so that I may prevent the common problems that I experienced, in other young women. At the same time I hope to overcome & dispel America's cultural norms that breasts=sex.

After seeing the benefits of exclusively breastfeeding first hand in my own baby, it is every womens RIGHT to experience the same with their own babies and formula companies are doing a good job of taking that right away. The day has come to end this war on womens breasts for feeding babies.

 My classes are entertaining and non judgemental no matter how you eventually choose to feed your baby, my goal is that at the very least you have come to that decision informed & armed with the resources to overcome any problems.

 Leslie Ott, CLE