Moms offered nursing support
Free2Feed, a breastfeeding support group, has expanded to Mesquite and is inviting moms to come get support and help they may need.
Free2Feed is a nonprofit organization that exists to help new mothers feel confident in their ability to breastfeed their babies. The group also offers information in other areas of motherhood as well such as the infant immune system, ear infections, pediatric chiropractic care, baby massage, baby carriers, cloth diapering, introducing solids, essential oils and several others.
Founded in April 2013 with just six women, Free2Feed now has more than 175 members with chapters in Hurricane, St. George and Mesquite.
The Mesquite Free2Feed group leader is Trish Olsen, mother of five with one on the way.
Olsen said she has breastfed all her children and is working on becoming a lactation specialist.
Although, she did breastfeed all her children, Olsen said she experienced some trouble when she realized her children were tongue-tied.
At the weekly group meeting, another mom began telling Olsen how her baby would latch on to feed in the morning but at night the baby was fussy about it. The mom told Olsen that the baby would take a bottle no problem.
Olsen explained the baby could be tongue-tied. She said it takes entirely different muscles in the baby's mouth to latch on to and feed from a breast than the nipple of a bottle. It takes less work for the baby to eat from the bottle than from its mother. Olsen also explained a simple procedure can fix the problem.
"Eighty percent of women who stop breastfeeding do so due to lack of support," Olsen told the Desert Valley Times. "We live in a bottle-fed, formula society. We want to normalize breast feeding."
Normalizing breastfeeding is part of the group's goal so it "can be an example to our country so that it would some day be accepted by all," the website says.
Olsen also explained that nursing an infant does take more work than feeding with formula.
"The breast milk is specially created for your baby's digestion," she said. "So it passes through more quickly giving the baby the nourishment it needs and then the baby will be hungry again.
The group meets every Wednesday from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the Bunkerville community center. The group also so does outings for moms who like to be active such as the four-mile Stroller Stride and the 90-minute hiking group.
The group is very active with one another. If a new mom is having troubling nursing in the hospital a Free2Feed member can come guide the new mom at the hospital if requested. The group also offers home-cooked meals to new moms arriving home so they can focus on settling in.
If interested in joining or for more information on the group visit 435-231-2111 or visit www.free2feed.org, or email at free2feedstg@gmail.com, or like the group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Free2Feedstg
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