International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Moms & Babies Huntingdon, Tenn.

"I want for all mothers and babies the opportunity to learn why breastfeeding is so important. And I want for mothers to learn how to breastfeed in ways that fit in with their lifestyles and parenting choices. Breastfeeding is as much art as it is science. There is no one right way to breastfeed a baby. There are techniques that work for most women, but each technique can be adapted to fit the needs of the unique mother-baby couple."

Photo: Melissa Clark Vickers and her daughter, Merrilee, less than 24 hours old.

Melissa Vickers, MEd, IBCLC, is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and freelance author with extensive experience in breastfeeding education, materials development and individual counseling in the home, office and hospital, as well as through interactive computer bulletin boards. She rents and sells electric breast pumps and accessories. Vickers writes, edits and publishes a bimonthly breastfeeding newsletter, Moms and Babies, now in its fifth year. She is an accredited La Leche League Leader, and was a contributing editor for Leaven, La Leche League's international Leader journal (1993-1997). She is currently La Leche League of Tennessee's Area Professional Liaison Leader. She has WIC clinical experience, and was an advisor for an award-winning USDA-funded WIC Breastfeeding Incentive Project in Atlanta. Vickers has two children, both of whom breastfed and were at least indirectly responsible for Vickers' career change from high school human anatomy teacher to lactation consultant.

I breastfed my son nearly 15 years ago out of some vague notion that it was the best feeding method and, to be quite honest, I just couldn't see myself sterilizing bottles and mixing formula day and night. I had a good friend who was nursing her third when Dan was born and she was there for me, encouraging and supporting, especially through a painful bout of sore nipples. I had been convinced that 'air-skinned women get sore nipples' and just accepted the pain as routine. Once I got past the pain (through sheer determination), I settled into a comfortable pattern of nursing Dan when he needed it. He was an easy-going baby and taught me a lot about mothering.

When Merrilee came along nearly four years later after a difficult pregnancy, I was determined to give her the same start I had given Dan. Unfortunately, I still labored under the notion that I should expect sore nipples and put up with another round of agony. Merrilee was a different baby than Dan, as well. She was a high-need baby from the get-go, and was happiest being held and nursed. I wore her most of the time in a cloth carrier and have watched this baby grow into an independent pre-adolescent. Had I not breastfed Dan and seen the positive effects on him and myself, I might have made other choices for Merrilee, too. Breastfeeding kept me sane and focused on the important job of mothering I had before me.

I didn't discover La Leche League until Merrilee was a year old. I attended a few meetings and realized I had found a wonderful group of women who parented their children the way I wanted to, and I saw first-hand the value of learning from other mothers who had 'been there, done that.' I became an accredited volunteer La Leche League Leader in 1990. In 1993 I became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and turned my avocation into a vocation.

If I only knew then what I know now ... I would have known that breastfeeding is NOT supposed to hurt, and that pain is a red flag that something is not right, most often due to improper positioning. I would have known that breastfeeding is not just a life style choice. It is a health choice. It is the 'gold standard' against which all other feeding options must be compared. I would have known that breastfeeding is good for babies AND moms, and that it benefits the community and world.

"The newborn baby has only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of its mother, food from her breast, and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastfeeding satisfies all three." -- Dr. Grantly Dick-Read

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