Yes, breastfeeding makes you ravenous—and the right kinds of snacks should be nutritious, filling, and (most importantly!) easy to prepare

When a person chooses to breastfeed or chestfeed their baby, they usually know that some basic equipment is required—like a nursing bra and nipple cream. But one thing that often takes people by surprise is how incredibly hungry they feel once they start their breastfeeding journey. Lactation requires approximately 500 extra calories and at least 65 grams of protein per day. So, if you are eating like you were pre-pregnancy, it’s likely that you are getting pretty ravenous mid-day. Bring on the breastfeeding snacks!

Snacks can play a huge part in a lactating person’s journey. Because let’s be honest—some people can’t sit down for three square meals a day and snacks become the norm during the chaotic first few months of parenthood.

As a registered dietitian working with lactating parents, I tell my clients that when choosing breastfeeding-friendly snacks, they should stick to some general criteria:

  • It should be nutrient-dense to help support healthy nutrient levels in your breastmilk and to support mom’s healing and overall nutritional status
  • It should contain some protein, fiber, and/or healthy fat to help make your snack more satiating
  • It should ideally take little effort to make and easily be enjoyed with one hand
  • It should taste good

Among the sea of snack options, I have my go-to combos that I recommend to clients most frequently. And while the occasional ice cream or salt and vinegar chips can certainly fit into a healthy lifest‌yle, there are some satisfying and lactation-supporting options that should make up the bulk of your food choices.

Here are my top 3 “dietitian-approved” breastfeeding snacks that I recommend most parents keep on hand when they are on their lactation journey.

1. Chicken Salad & Whole Grain Crackers

Snacks that contain high-quality protein and whole grains check so many boxes when it comes to lactation nutrition. And enjoying some simple chicken salad on whole grain crackers certainly fits the bill.

Simply shred cooked chicken (using leftover chicken from a meal will do) and mix it with a little salt, pepper, and a combo of plain Greek yogurt and mayo for a nutrient-dense and simple snack. Throw in some herbs or your favorite seasoning if you want to kick up the flavor. Scoop the salad up with some whole grain crackers for a mid-day nosh.

Related: Breastfeeding Supplies We Swear By

Chicken is one of the best foods to enjoy when nursing for a slew of reasons. Yes, it is a fantastic source of high-quality protein, clocking in at 31 grams per each 3.5 ounce serving of dark meat. But chicken is also a source of key micronutrients that are important to focus on during lactation, including vitamin B12. One 3.5-ounce serving of roasted dark meat chicken contains 11% of the recommended daily need for lactating people. B12 is important for supporting baby’s neurologic development, and not getting enough is linked to developmental regression. Since breastmilk’s levels of vitamin B12 are dependent on the lactating person’s intake, including foods like chicken is important during this stage.

Chicken also contains choline, a nutrient that is important for a baby’s brain development. A lactating person’s intake influences breastmilk levels. A 3.5-ounce roasted skinless chicken breast is a good source of choline, providing about 15% of the daily needs of lactating people.

2. Hard Boiled Egg & Fruit

Do yourself a favor and hard-boil a batch of eggs once a week. Once they cool, store them in the shell in your fridge for up to a week. You will be jumping for joy to have a nutritious grab-and-go snack option when those hunger pangs hit and you need something ASAP. And since one large-sized egg contains 6 grams of high-quality protein, enjoying one mid-day is an easy-breezy way to get in this important macro, plus a host of micronutrients, too. And don’t skip the yolk. The colorful part of the egg is where you will find plenty of breastfeeding-friendly nutrients like choline and iodine, both of which support brain development. In fact, two large eggs provide more than half of a lactating person’s choline needs for the day.

Related: What If Breastfeeding Gear Was Actually Cool?

Pair your egg with a piece of fresh fruit for a simple snack that packs a punch in the nutrition department and requires zero mess in the kitchen—something all new parents can appreciate.

3. Cranberry Smoothie

Smoothies are the ultimate snack when you have no time to eat and only one hand to do it with—which is basically every day when you have a newborn in tow. Smoothies are hydrating, packed with antioxidants, and are simple to sip on when you’re juggling all of the things.

Using cranberry juice in your postpartum smoothie is one way to add some satisfying taste to your drink while supporting urinary tract health.

Cranberries also contain vitamin C, a nutrient that people need in continuous supply, as the body does not store it.

To make a cranberry smoothie: blend 1/2 cup 100% cranberry juice, 1/2 frozen banana, 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt, and a handful of ice in a blender and blend until smooth. Cheers!

Lauren Manaker, MS, RD
Tinybeans Voices Contributor

Lauren Manaker is an award-winning registered dietitian, lactation counselor and author. Lauren's work has been featured in numerous publications and demostrates her committment to sharing evidence-based nutrition guidance that simplifies healthy eating. When she is not writing, Lauren can be found boating with her husband, daughter and rescue pup on the waters of Charleston, SC.

Olivia Munn has a message for new moms out there: give yourselves a break on the breastmilk guilt. “To the mamas out there — do whatever you need to feed your baby,” she revealed on Instagram on Tuesday. “And don’t let anyone make you feel bad about it.”

After struggling with low milk supply, she ended up feeling exhausted and defeated. “I felt like my body was failing,” Munn, 41, revealed in an Instagram video on Tuesday. “I worried I wouldn’t bond with my baby.”

But she didn’t give up. Instead, she worked with two different lactation consultants, tried several breastfeeding pillows, ate lactation-boosting soups, teas and cookies, and drank liters of coconut water. She even wore a device around her neck with tubes taped to her breasts to try to stimulate milk production while she gave her baby the nutrients that he needs.

She mom’d so hard on this, y’all, but as we all know, sometimes it’s not the effort that determines the outcome when it comes to all things parenting. “None of it worked!” Munn shared. “I cried and cried.”

Eventually, Munn realized that breastfeeding and formula are both good. Experts agree. Encino, California Pediatrician Dr. Irwin Bruckner tells moms and dads that breast milk is A+, while formula is a solid A. “There’s so much more to parenting than giving your baby breast milk. There’s smiling, there’s cuddling, there’s dancing,” Bruckner told TODAY Parents. “So if breastfeeding is wearing you down so much that you’re not doing those other things, it’s not worth going the extra distance to get the A+ in breast milk as opposed to the A in formula.”

Munn’s followers on Instagram responded swiftly to her Instagram post, replying “I had the same issues. It wore me out physically and emotionally,” and “THANK YOU! My OB told me ‘Breastfeeding, formula, he doesn’t care, just feed him.’” Seems like her fan base just got a lot bigger.

—Shelley Massey

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Just because breastfeeding is natural doesn’t necessarily mean it comes naturally. Many women struggle with producing enough milk, which can be confusing and frustrating. So, we’ve rounded up all the tips, products and natural supplements that can boost your supply and keep that liquid gold flowing.

We also recommend talking to your ob-gyn and a lactation consultant for more personalized guidance, and to run your milk-boosting plan by them.

Food, Drinks & Supplements

Galactagogues (pronounced gah-lak´tah-gogs) is a fancy word that means a food, herb or supplement that can help increase breast milk supply. Add it to the things you never heard of before you embarked on motherhood but is all of a sudden an essential! Here's a list of the most common and helpful galactagogues: 

Fenugreek seed. It has been used since the 19th century and is probably still the herb most associated with increasing milk supply (some say it can increase flow by 900%). It's a common ingredient in Indian dishes and is similar to clover. Steep a teabag of it to get full benefits and a sweet maple syrup taste. 

Fennel. It's your choice how you want to take this sweet-smelling, highly nutritious herb: Cook with it, toss it into a salad, or take it in the form of a supplement. It's said to be an excellent, natural way to increase breast milk production. It’s also available in an essential oil form. 

Flaxseed and flaxseed oil. Flaxseed has phytoestrogens that can influence breast milk production. Flaxseed also contains essential fatty acids.

Oatmeal. This common breakfast food is fantastic for building and maintaining your milk supply; it's also high in iron, which helps new moms who are anemic. Any oatmeal should workrolled, old-fashioned, steel-cut, even oatmeal muffins.

Alfalfa. Known for its ability to increase breast milk production, alfalfa also provides the body with essential vitamins and minerals. Many midwives encourage their clients to supplement with alfalfa for six weeks before birth and several months afterward.

Brewer's yeast: This healthy nutritional supplement contains B vitamins, iron, protein, chromium, selenium and other minerals. Not only can it help you make more breast milk, it may also give you more energy and have a positive effect on your mood (yes, please!).

H20: Staying hydrated is important for everyone, but especially while breastfeeding. The milk nursing mothers produce is 88% water; when a baby feeds, the mother will lose bodily fluids. Apart from that, you also need to make up for the fluids needed for the body to produce milk. 

Techniques to Try

Milk production is all a supply and demand game—the more milk your baby consumes, the more milk your body makes. It sounds simple, but it is oftentimes not. So here are tricks and techniques to encourage your body to produce more milk so you can meet baby's nursing needs. 

Breastfeeding on-demand. In the first few weeks after birth, your goal should be 8 to 12 nursing sessions in a 24-hour period. After that, pay attention to your baby’s hunger cues (like lip-smacking, finger sucking and rooting) and feed your babe as often as needed. This number will gradually reduce once your baby becomes more efficient and can drink more milk at each feeding.

Skin-to-skin contact. Research shows that holding your baby skin-to-skin helps increase milk volume by boosting your levels of the milk-making hormone oxytocin—the hormone responsible for milk ejection. Oxytocin is nicknamed the love hormone, and your levels go up when you snuggle up skin-to-skin. Here's to that overflowing love (and milk!). 

Power pumping. If your baby isn't with you or has a hard time latching on, try power pumping. To do it, you’ll want to sit down and pump on and off at an interval for about an hour. You can choose the interval that works for you—you can do 20 minutes first and then 10 minutes off and on, 12 minutes on and 8 off, 15 and 5, etc.

Apply heat. Try taking a warm bath or applying a warm compress to your breasts before nursing, as it's an easy way to increase milk flow.

Breast compression. Before pumping or nursing, massage your breasts using the palms of your hands and finger pads. This helps move more milk forward and increases your output. It also helps the rich, high-calorie hindmilk release more efficiently. In addition, with so many milk ducts on the breasts, massaging can help allow for better milk flow when you begin pumping.

Switch sides. It's common for one breast to produce more milk than the other, but it is important to switch sides regularly to increase overall production. The movement of changing sides, plus the change in the flow of breast milk from one breast to the other, may encourage babes to keep breastfeeding. Demand goes up; supply goes up! 

Products for Purchase

Motherhood Maternity

Search for products that help stimulate milk production, and you'll find quite a few. We've rounded up ones that are consistently praised by my moms-in-the-know. 

Milkmakers. A company that knows how to get a new mom's attention! Milkmakers sells delicious cookies that include ingredients known to increase milk production, like oats and brewer’s yeast. They also contain flax seeds, which provide an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids that pass through the mother’s milk to support proper brain development. In addition to their sweets line, they sell lactation teas and drink supplements. 

Legendairy Milk Pump Princess Lactation Supplement. If you're looking for a one-stop supplement, try Pump Princess, which contains a blend of organic ingredients (including black cumin seed, fennel, and dill) designed to optimize breast milk production and support milk flow. 

Pink Stork Lactation Sweets: Individually wrapped sweets with a watermelon flavor support breast milk supply with essential herbs. Perfect for on-the-go moms.  

Boobie Bar Superfood Lactation Bar: Created by a board-certified lactation consultant, these tasty bars include six organic superfoods that keep the milk flowing.

—Aimee Della Bitta

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The airport is hands down one of the least convenient places to breastfeed. But with summer travel in full swing, new moms everywhere find themselves in challenging feeding situations. Fortunately, Mamava and Hello Bello are partnering to make moms’ lives easier!

The category creator of freestanding lactation spaces, Mamava has joined forces with Hello Bello, the premium baby products company co-founded by Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard. The duo has placed 11 Mamava ADA pods in post-security concourses at the busiest airports in the U.S. The pods are playfully designed with Hello Bello branding and stocked with the company’s hand sanitizer.

New moms will have a little extra piece of mind as they exit security and the collaboration also hopes to serve as a thought piece for travelers everywhere, prompting them to consider the logistics of breastfeeding in public. You can use the Mamava app to find one of these new pods, as well as one of the 1,800 plus existing Mamava pods at 63 airports. The app also allows you to check the vacancy status of a pod, adjust the airflow and even leave a digital note of support for the next person.

Stay tuned for more to come between the two brands! Hello Bello is currently offering 20% off diaper and wipe bundles for first time customers. Just use the code MAMAVA at checkout.

—Sarah Shebek

Featured image courtesy of Mamava

 

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My son was 17 months old when my twins were born. Like many moms of multiples, I had complications giving birth to the girls and was sent home on bedrest after a long stay in the hospital. My husband is self-employed which basically means if you don’t go, you don’t make money so paternity leave wasn’t on the table for us.  My mom was a great help, but caring for twins who eat every 2 hours (24 feeds in 24 hours!) and a young toddler was wearing on her to say the least.

Because of my long recovery time and basically feeling shit-scared most days, I sort of felt robbed of the joyful parts of bringing our babies home for the first time. I thought it was just my family that had this kind of experience.  I started Let Mommy Sleep to help new parents like us and since the first day we opened 7 years ago, our phones haven’t stopped ringing. Turns out it’s not just me. It’s a LOT of us, maybe even most of us.

For this reason, In Home Postpartum Visits by a Registered Nurse should be a national healthcare standard for US families. They’re a standard in many other countries and the benefits to families  include better safety, lowered readmissions and evidence based education for new parents.  Lactation Consultations are already covered by most plans so it makes sense that a less expensive, more comprehensive service can be available.

In Home Postpartum Visits might not be needed by everyone. But for moms on the cusp of postpartum depression, parents who are drowning in the sea of misinformation and families who don’t have help of friends or family, the care of a nurse might be the difference between sickness and health.

With twin girls and a boy born 17 months apart, I'm the owner of the world's most ironically named business, Let Mommy Sleep. Let Mommy Sleep provides nurturing postpartum care to newborns and evidence based education to parents by Registered Nurses and Newborn Care Providers.  

Have the realities of the “fourth trimester” got you down? If nursing your newborn is literally a pain, Frida Mom has you covered with a line of new breast-friendly products!

Frida Mom launched in 2019, with a collection products to help women during the postpartum period. With the brand’s newest line, Breast Care, Frida Mom is about to become your “breast friend.”

Photo courtesy of Frida Mom

The brand’s CEO, and mom of three,  Chelsea Hirschhorn wanted to help other women demystify breastfeeding comfort. Instead of the hacks you can find on random websites or YouTube tutorials, Frida Mom’s line can help to ease discomfort without kooky or convoluted so-called hacks.

You’ll find everything you need to nurse without pain, stay healthy, and make milk in Frida Mom’s collection. The line’s highlights include an Adjustable Nursing Pillow, 2-in-1 Lactation Massager, Instant Heat Breast Warmer, Breast Masks for Lactation, Engorgement and Hydration, Postpartum Gummies for Lactation, and a Breast Care Self Care Kit.

Find Frida Mom’s new postpartum Breast Care products, along with other must-haves for the new mom, at Target, Amazon, or FridaMom.com.

—Erica Loop

 

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Editor’s Note: Here at Red Tricycle, we respect and celebrate every mom’s feeding journey. Bottle? Boob? It doesn’t matter—we believe fed is best. Our Spoke Contributor Network is inclusive and open to all parenting journeys—yours, too!

Mama’s, let’s be honest, breastfeeding is hard enough! In my mind, my milk would come in on time and my baby girl would latch…. it would be magical like you hear. Ha! Wrong. From the moment my birth went in a way different direction than I anticipated, the more I realized everything I thought motherhood would be, just wasn’t. It was super tiring and emotionally draining from the beginning. It was super hard and nothing for me came easy… including breastfeeding.

After 42 hours of labor and winding up in an unexpected c-section, I was more tired than I could of ever possibly imagined and Amelia didn’t latch. Then I found out my milk was late. 10 days to be exact. Who knew your milk can be late? No one talks about this! So I started to pump to help force my milk in and hope she would latch.

This vision of me breastfeeding and creating a magical bond was not happening. I could barely move from my c-section and all the labor I endured before the surgery. I had no energy and could barely hold my new baby girl. I felt defeated. I felt like a failure as a new mom. I kept trying and trying, and she wouldn’t latch, and my milk was still not coming in. So I continued to pump just enough to get colostrum, and my husband would feed her with a little doppler.

We continued skin to skin and all the techniques to encourage breastfeeding. Finally, at 10 days or so, my milk came in…and wow, did I feel it. That was so painful in itself! However, at that point, I didn’t care about the pain, my milk was in! I thought she was going to latch because I now had milk! Wrong again! And now I had fully engorged breasts and latching wasn’t happening—at all! I was in a new kind of pain. I still couldn’t believe she wasn’t latching.

I finally reached out to my doula and midwife who told me it was completely normal, that only 3-percent of babies latch from birth. After having a birth nowhere near what I expected or wanted, I was determined to be able to breastfeed. So I began reaching out to the resources from my birth team. In came a lactation specialist from Goldilacts who showed me how to line up her hips and lips, to try to make it easier to nurse. She encouraged me, told me it was completely normal, and I was doing a great job! I didn’t feel like it though. I even had the boppy pillow with me at all times to try to position myself and her easier and still nothing was happening over and over! I just kept crying and crying and thought this can’t be the start of my motherhood journey.

I started researching and going online, looking at stories about moms trying to breastfeed, and honestly, I didn’t feel that much support. Regardless, I was determined, so I continued to do skin-to-skin, even if it meant she would just scream the whole time and maybe get a little drop. I was still pumping to make sure she was getting enough milk and gaining weight. So I knew she was safe as I continued to want and try to nurse. Finally, she latched a few weeks or so later; which honestly felt like an eternity!

Then came the judgment. If I nursed in public, women and men would stare at me, and I would end up trying to hide myself under covers or find a corner to disappear and feel ashamed. WTF! I finally got her to latch, and now I’m hiding it! This seems so backwards when I should be celebrating this huge milestone. On top of the fact, for me, this still wasn’t magical. I was still in quite a bit of pain—my nipples were torn up and bloody, rough, sore and inflamed, but I was doing it regardless.

After a few months, we were in somewhat of a rhythm. She was getting milk and was happy, so I was happy. Fast forward to 18 months into this journey that I never thought I would be still be breastfeeding, and here we are!! It’s pure magic! She’s thriving, and I love the bonding! We nurse everywhere and anywhere no problem. Milk is still coming in without pumping, which I’m grateful. She does a baby sign for it now when she wants to nurse and literally jumps on!! It’s like you never would have known she ever had problems latching.

So this brings me to my next pain point as a new mama. Please stop asking when I’m going to stop breastfeeding. Stop asking if it’s painful with her full mouth of teeth. Shouldn’t she be on regular milk by now? Shouldn’t you give her formula if she’s that hungry? Why doesn’t anybody talk about the benefits of breast feeding longer? Why is it when you go past that “year mark,” people ask you why and question you? It’s all shaming whether you realize it or not. Be supportive. Cheer us on. Let’s put an end to this and help to encourage other mamas to keep going! Other cultures encourage this, professionals recommend breastfeeding until 2 years old if you can. If you look up the stats all over, worldwide most babies are weaned on average between 2 and 4.

There are many reasons for it too: balanced nutrition, boosted immunity, brain boost, toddler independence, improving their health right now and for the future but also for mamas too—it can reduce our risk of certain cancers, like breast and ovarian! And right now I’m feeling empowered as ever to be able to still nurse her. Women can truly do it all! Our bodies are amazing! Don’t give up mama! You’ve got this! And yes, I have to remind myself of that too—especially when I am questioned about still breastfeeding.

This article was written by Ali Levin.

Ruthi Davis is a the Founder of Ruth Davis Consulting LLC with over two decades of success in advertising/marketing, media/publicity, business development, client relations, and organizational optimization for a variety of clients. Ruthi is a proud mom and influencer in the parenting and family market as founder of the Superfly Supermom brand.

Editor’s Note: Here at Red Tricycle, we respect and celebrate every mom’s feeding journey. Bottle? Boob? It doesn’t matter—we believe fed is best. Our Spoke Contributor Network is inclusive and open to all parenting journeys—yours, too!

Breastfeeding is hard enough, but going through the ups and downs of lactation and feeding during a global pandemic makes things infinitely more stressful for moms. It’s such a vulnerable time for both mom and baby that extra care should be made to make sure everything is functioning properly and the mom feels well supported.

There are 5 essential things new moms can do while breastfeeding during this challenging time:

1. Go Big on Sanitizers: Wash your hands before feeding or pumping. Step up your sanitizing routine by creating a nursing nook that includes a hand sanitizer for your hands and disinfectant wipes for your materials. Make it an important part of your baby feeding schedule but also for any other time with the baby.

2. Balance Your Time Online. While it’s great to stay informed on current events around the web, prioritize time away from the screen to maintain balance of mind and body when feeding your baby. Embrace that time while keeping stress low, practicing both social and mental distancing.

3. Switch up the Normal Routine. You want the newborn journey to be enjoyable, but it’s hard to enjoy your time with your baby when you can’t leave the house. The key is to find activities around your home that are enjoyable—like creating fun new ways to play with the baby, taking the baby into the tub with you, going on walks, creating a fun nighttime routine, etc.

4. If You Have Been Diagnosed, Wear a Mask. If you have symptoms or have been diagnosed, you should still breastfeed, but do so with a mask. The CDC says breastmilk is the best source of nutrition for baby and limited early data suggests that there is no risk of infection to babies via breast milk. However, always check the CDC website for any updates and new findings around breastfeeding.

5. Control Visitors. Keep “non-essential” family members away from the baby. If grandparents want to be close, they must quarantine, or wash their hands, use sanitizer and wear a mask—and even though he/she may seem irresistibly cute, no kissing baby’s face.

This is a hard time for everyone but moms and babies are particularly vulnerable right now to experiencing challenges along the breastfeeding journey. These are just a few of the things moms and their caregivers and family members can do to make sure things go as smoothly as possible during this precious moment in time in the baby’s life.

 

Linda M. Hanna, RNC, MSN/Ed., IBCLC, and co-founder of Mahmee, has been a registered nurse since 1978. She pioneered the Great Starts program at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills, which was so successful it was adopted by Kaiser locations throughout the US. She also developed Cedars-Sinai's Lactation Education program. 

Just in time for National Breastfeeding Month this August, Walmart and Mamava have partnered together to support mothers across the country. They plan to install Mamava lactation suites into more than 100 Walmart stores this year for the benefit of associates and customers. Walmart is the first retailer to install Mamava pods in a store setting, offering moms another breastfeeding option.

Walmart Mamava Pod

Mamava lactation suites, or pods, are freestanding spaces that provide a clean, comfortable, and private option to breastfeed or pump. The pods are accessed through the Mamava app, which guides mom to a pod’s location, opens the pod with the touch of a button and allows mom to customize lighting and airflow, leave digital notes of encouragement for other moms and listen to soothing sounds. The pods are free to use. See which Walmart stores have a Mamava pod.

“We started Mamava to ensure that every breastfeeding mother could choose whether or not to breastfeed, so we set out to remove all barriers to making that choice,” says Sascha Mayer, Mamava’s CEO and co-founder. “Walmart’s commitment to supporting breastfeeding associates and community members with Mamava pods is a huge leap forward for inclusivity and normalizing breastfeeding culture.”

The Walmart and Mamava relationship began when Walmart associate and new mom, Tennille Webb, discovered a Mamava pod while traveling and advocated to bring them to Walmartstores.“When I discovered and used the Mamava pod that first time, it was a game-changer for me and I knew it would be a great option that gives my fellow Walmart associates and our customers another choice in their breastfeeding journey, says Webb. “I’m honored to see that my idea has come to reality in our stores, it’s teaching my son how one person can make a big difference.”

Walmart Mamava Pod

The launch follows a successful pilot in three Walmart stores last year. The retailer plans to install a Mamava pod in more than 100 stores across the country by the end of this year, with more planned in the years to come.

“There is nothing else like the Mamava pod. We strongly believe in what Mamava is doing to support moms and the experience the pods help create, said Julie Murphy, Executive Vice President, Walmart U.S. People. “We are very excited to provide this for moms who work and shop at our stores.”

Walmart currently has Mother’s Rooms in several hundred stores for associates and customers to use. The Mamava pods are intended for select stores without a Mother’s Room, offering moms another choice.

A recent survey by Mamava and Medela found that COVID-19 has made moms even more committed to breastfeeding, in part for its immunological benefits. For more information about how Mamava supports breastfeeding moms, visit www.mamava.com.

Walmart’s commitment to helping moms doesn’t stop with Mamava. Through the retailer’s new Breast Pump Program, expectant moms can receive a premium breast pump covered by their insurance, without ever leaving their home. The easy-to-use service, offered in English and Spanish, allows parents to quickly see which pumps are covered under their insurance. A team of mom and baby specialists will take care of filing the insurance paperwork and once approved, the breast pump will be shipped straight to the customer’s door for free.

—Jennifer Swartvagher

All photos courtesy of Walmart

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Mamava lactation pods are moving into the workplace! The mom-centric brand recently announced the addition of its compact lactation pod, the Mamava Solo—a private, easy-to-set-up space for women who need to pump at work.

The pods, which are already in airports and other select spaces, have made nursing and pumping easier for moms on-the-go. Instead of cramming your gear into a bathroom stall or taking over the break room just to pump, Mamava wants to give you another (and a better) option.

Sascha Mayer, CEO and co-founder of Mamava, said a in a press release, “Employers looking to retain employees should be thinking about best-in-class lactation options and support, not just something that brings them into compliance.” With that in mind, Mamava’s newest product provides women with a clean, private place to pump that’s free from distractions.

Each compact unit ships within two to four weeks and installs within hours. The pod’s features include a deadbolt-locking door, one bench, two shelves, a mirror, a hook, internal outlets and a USB plug.

Along with the pod itself, women using it will also have access to Mamamva’s Smart Platform. Using the company’s app, each mom can locate the pod, check to see if it’s vacant, adjust lighting and airflow and connect with support and resources.

—Erica Loop

Photos: Courtesy of Mamava

 

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