Gulf Coast Breastfeeding Center

08/24/2026

Here is what we recommend you pack in your pump bag and WHY!

🧊ICE PACKS
You need to keep that milk cold not only while at work but on your drive home. If you have access to a fridge and freezer you can use those to store milk AND keep your ice packs cold.

💧Storage bottles or bags
After pumping, you can bring small storage bottles, the bottle your baby will feed from or bags to store the milk and keep it fresh. You can even get a milk cooler container that comes with a large bottle inside to do the “pitcher” method and store it all together!

👙Pumping bra
Girl…. Stop holding your pumps on with your hands. Treat yourself to a nursing bra and RELAX

👚Extra shirt
Iykyk. Milk spills are devastating and usually when you don’t have anything else to wear…. Pack an extra. 🫠

💦Pump spray
Pump spray mimics the effect saliva has while nursing. It lubricates, helps prevent pain and discomfort and can as a result help with output.

🔌Pump Charger
We shouldn’t have to explain this one😛

🫧Wipes
You can bring sanitizing wipes, pump cleaning wipes- whatever you fancy. But these come in handy for spills and long days at work when you need your pump cleaned.

🧥Jacket
Sitting in a pumping bra can be 🥶 so bring a jacket that zips if you’re cold natured!

PSA: if you’re traveling- don’t forget you can rent some pump bags from us🥰 mom bags for the win!

08/24/2026

NO MILC LEAGUE AT THE GULF COAST BREASTFEEDING CENTER THIS WEEK!

08/21/2026

Clinical Lactation Evidence Update
Review window: August 14–21, 2026

1. Families needing supplementation received more inpatient lactation care—but causation remains unclear
Citation: Byrd ML, Carey MG. Impact of Inpatient Lactation Nurse Visit Frequency and Duration on Feeding Outcomes: A Retrospective Review. Breastfeeding Medicine. Published online August 13 and newly indexed August 14, 2026. PubMed record and abstract
Type/population: Retrospective medical-record review of 633 term mother–infant dyads receiving rooming-in care at one US academic medical center.
Finding: Families averaged 3.46 lactation visits and 64 total minutes of bedside support. Those intending exclusive breastfeeding but ultimately supplementing with formula received the most intensive support: approximately four visits and 79 minutes.
Equity finding: Recorded support intensity was similar across racial and ethnic groups.
Confidence: Low to moderate.
Critical limitation: The study cannot establish that more lactation visits prevented or caused supplementation. The most likely explanation is that feeding difficulty led to additional visits. It also did not measure visit quality, milk transfer, clinical complexity, timing of supplementation, or outcomes after discharge.
Clinical implication: Number of encounters alone is an incomplete quality measure. Documentation should capture the feeding goal, reason for supplementation, assessment findings, interventions, response, and follow-up plan.
Practice-changing? No, but useful for hospital collaboration and advocacy for coordinated inpatient-to-outpatient lactation care.
2. Breastfeeding education was associated with less galactagogue use
Citation: Durukan Tosun M. Breastfeeding Education, Practices to Enhance Breast Milk Production, and Vitamin Supplements for Breastfeeding Mothers: A Cross-Sectional Study. Mersin University Journal of Health Sciences. Published August 14, 2026. DOI: 10.26559/mersinsbd.1940240
Type/population: Cross-sectional questionnaire study of 377 Turkish mothers who had children 6–24 months old and were still breastfeeding.
Finding: Sixty-five percent had received breastfeeding education. Those who attended the hospital’s breastfeeding clinic reportedly breastfed longer and used galactagogues less frequently. Mothers commonly decided to try a milk-supply product and then asked a pharmacist which one to purchase.
Confidence: Low.
Limitations: Self-reported, retrospective data; no objective measurement of milk production; unclear control for medical causes of low supply; and substantial survivor bias because every participant was still breastfeeding at enrollment. It cannot prove that education reduced galactagogue use or lengthened breastfeeding.
Clinical implication: The valuable message is not that education treats low supply. It is that access to skilled assessment may reduce unnecessary or unguided use of supplements marketed as milk boosters.
Patient-education implication: Before recommending an herb, food, vitamin, or medication, establish whether low production is objectively present and assess milk removal, transfer, maternal risk factors, infant factors, and feeding frequency.
Practice-changing? No. It reinforces existing good clinical practice.
3. Online support correlates with breastfeeding self-efficacy—but accuracy still matters
Citation: Uzunkaya Öztoprak P, Calpbinici P. The Effect of Perceived Online Social Support on Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Among Mothers Who Use Social Media. Mersin University Journal of Health Sciences. Published August 14, 2026. DOI: 10.26559/mersinsbd.1802608
Type/population: Cross-sectional study of 342 actively breastfeeding social-media users in Türkiye.
Finding: Perceived online support had a moderately strong association with breastfeeding self-efficacy, with a reported correlation of r = 0.582. Checking or verifying social-media information appeared to partly mediate the relationship.
Confidence: Low.
Limitations: Self-selected social-media users, self-reported measures, one country, and no breastfeeding-duration or infant-health outcome demonstrating clinical benefit. Higher-confidence mothers may also be more likely to seek or perceive online support.
Clinical implication: Professionally moderated online communities can provide meaningful emotional and informational support, but engagement should not be mistaken for clinical effectiveness.
GCBC relevance: This supports using GCBC and MILC League social media for connection, normalization, and directing families toward proper assessment—while clearly separating general education from individualized care.
Practice-changing? No. It is a useful program-design signal.

08/21/2026

💧 INTRODUCING: THE LACTATION LETDOWN 💧

Something new is coming to the GCBC page!

Every Friday, I’ll be sharing The Lactation Letdown—a quick look at new research, updated recommendations, and interesting developments in breastfeeding, pumping, infant feeding, and clinical lactation care.

There is a lot of information about breastfeeding on social media, but “new” does not always mean accurate—and one study does not automatically mean we should change the way we care for families.

Each week, I’ll help break it down:

😊 What did the research find?
🔍 How strong is the evidence?
⚠️ What are the limitations?
👩‍⚕️ Does it change clinical practice?
💛 What does it actually mean for parents?

No exaggerated headlines. No one-size-fits-all advice. Just current lactation information explained through the clinical lens of an experienced IBCLC.

Join us every Friday for The Lactation Letdown—where we let down the latest lactation research and get to the part that actually matters.

What lactation topic would you love to see us break down?

08/20/2026

08/20/2026