At Mama Cafe, A Place for Women to Learn About Breast-Feeding

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When it comes to feeding your baby, many have heard the phrase “breast is best.”

For the owners of , a local independent childbirth and parenting education center, this couldn’t be truer.

BabyLove founders and co-owners Brittany Kubricky and Veronica Jacobsen organize a free weekly meeting just for pregnant and breast-feeding moms called .

“For the health of mom and baby, it’s extremely important,” said Kubricky, who is a certified birth doula, a Lamaze-certified childbirth educator and a certified Dancing for Birth instructor.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends mothers breast-feed exclusively for the first six months of their baby’s life and continue supplementary breastfeeding until their child is at least one year old.

According to a policy statement from the AAP, breast-feeding can reduce the risk of infants developing respiratory tract infections, gastrointestinal tract infections, sudden infant death syndrome, allergies, obesity, diabetes, childhood leukemia and lymphoma and other medical conditions.

Breast-feeding can also reduce the likelihood of mothers developing postpartum depression, postpartum weight retention, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, breast and ovarian cancer and other medical conditions, according to the AAP policy statement.

But Jacobsen, who is a certified lactation counselor, a certified birth doula, a Lamaze certified childbirth educator and a child passenger safety technician, says that public support for breastfeeding is lacking and many women are being given misinformation about how to breastfeed.

Most childbirth professionals, including doulas, pediatricians, labor nurses and obstetricians, have limited or outdated breast-feeding training, if any, Kubricky said.

“Breast-feeding is learned by seeing it,” said Jacobsen. “We’ve hid it for so long that it’s made it hard for people to see how it really works.”

Mama Cafe offers mothers a safe public environment in which to nurse—and talk about breast-feeding.

Through the weekly meetings, Kubricky and Jacobsen hope to build a supportive community where mothers can learn about and openly discuss breast-feeding and parenting.

Mama Cafe is held every Tuesday morning. Five to seven moms typically attend. The mothers filter in slowly and everyone sits in a circle, sipping tea or coffee, while the babies play. A casual question and answer session follows.

Kubricky and Jacobsen are always present to answer questions and participate in the conversation, although mothers are encouraged to answer each other’s questions.

“We wanted to have a place where moms can come and feel comfortable,” said Kubricky.

For Kari Barker, a new mom who has attended Mama Cafe regularly for the past two months, the meetings provide a sense of support and togetherness.

“It’s a good group to get answers to questions,” said Barker. “I always pick up some different tips.”

BabyLove also provides a number of books and resources discussing how to breast-feed successfully.

Mama Cafe meets from 10-11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays at BabyLove. For more information, click .