Tracey Carolan IBCLC

No shade… just wondering what the world might look like if breastfeeding had always been viewed as something worthy of admiration instead of controversy. 🤔

Lol 😂

Hospitals may change logos, names, and CEOs…
But not this blanket. Never this blanket. 😅

I occasionally get messages that go something like this:

“My baby suddenly refuses my left breast. They scream, arch, and pull away, but they happily nurse on the right. What happened?”

Moms often think, “My milk must be drying up on that side.” Or, “I must have mastitis.”

Sometimes those are the reason. Especially if one breast is being favored more for feeding or the pump fl**ge is better for to one side. But surprisingly, milk supply isn’t always the culprit for breast preference. A baby who suddenly refuses one breast is usually trying to tell us that something feels different on that side. Babies don’t understand why it feels different. They just know they don’t like it.

Here are some of the hidden reasons this can happen.

💧 Flow or flavor preference

Believe it or not, your breasts are not identical. One side may have a faster letdown, a slower letdown, a larger storage capacity, or simply a flow pattern your baby prefers. Your milk can also taste different and have a different color from one side to the next even in the same feeding!!

Some babies love a fast, powerful flow because they don’t have to work as hard. Others become overwhelmed by a forceful letdown and prefer the calmer side.

As babies get older and become more efficient feeders, they become much more opinionated. They may suddenly decide one breast is “easier” than the other. Or one side tastes different.

That doesn’t necessarily mean there is anything wrong with your milk supply.

👶 Body position matters

Nursing on the right breast and the left breast are not mirror images. When you switch sides, your baby’s head turns the opposite direction. Their body rotates differently. Different muscles are stretched. Different joints move.

If your baby has neck tightness, muscle imbalance, torticollis, lingering birth tension, or simply a side they don’t enjoy turning toward, breastfeeding may be more difficult on only one breast.

Sometimes changing positions solves the problem. Football hold, laid-back nursing, side lying, or even keeping your baby’s body positioned similarly while simply moving them across your lap can make a huge difference. Bodywork like chiropractic, craniosacral fascial therapy, physical or occupational therapy can be a game changer.

👂 Ear infections

This is one of the biggest hidden culprits. Babies with an ear infection often refuse only one breast. Nursing requires them to lie on one side. If lying with the sore ear downward increases pressure, nursing suddenly becomes uncomfortable.

Sometimes parents think the breastfeeding relationship has fallen apart overnight, when in reality the baby has an ear infection that needs treatment.

If your happy nurser suddenly develops a one-sided refusal along with fussiness, fever, congestion, poor sleep, or pulling at an ear, it’s worth having them evaluated.

💪 Body tension

Babies don’t have to have torticollis to have body tension. A difficult birth, a very fast labor, a prolonged pushing stage, assisted delivery, time in the NICU, reflux discomfort, or simply developing movement patterns can all contribute to asymmetry.

As babies grow, they also become much more mobile. Rolling, crawling, and sitting all change how their muscles work. Sometimes parents notice a breast refusal around the same time their baby is mastering a new motor skill.

A feeding assessment that looks beyond the mouth can often uncover these patterns.

❤️ What should you do?

First, don’t panic. Continue offering both breasts without forcing your baby. Try different breastfeeding positions. Feed when your baby is sleepy if they’re more willing then.

If your breasts become overly full because one side isn’t being emptied well, hand express or pump just enough for comfort and to protect your milk supply.

Pay attention to other clues. Is your baby congested? Pulling at an ear? Preferring to turn their head one direction? Seeming uncomfortable during diaper changes or tummy time?

If the refusal continues, or your baby isn’t transferring milk well, working with an IBCLC can help determine whether the issue is related to milk flow, feeding mechanics, body tension, oral function, illness, or something else entirely.

Breastfeeding is a conversation between two bodies. When something changes, it’s easy to assume the breast is the problem. But sometimes, the breast is simply where the baby is expressing that something else doesn’t feel quite right. The goal isn’t just getting the baby back onto that breast. It’s figuring out why that breast suddenly became the one they didn’t want.

You make a birth plan so why not make a feeding plan as well?

When birthing in a hospital you will see many nurses all of whom have different lactation training and experiences. You'll hear 100 different opinions and all will tell you to do something differently.

Take a prenatal breastfeeding class privately before baby arrives and make a plan in case things dont go as expected, or even if they do.

This way everyone knows your choices.

What do you think?

Breastfeeding support has never been about making anyone feel guilty.

It's about recognizing that breastfeeding has important health benefits for both mothers and babies, and that every family deserves the opportunity to reach their own breastfeeding goals with compassionate, evidence-based support.

Too often, conversations about breastfeeding become framed as one choice versus another's. That's never been what we stand for.

What we stand for is making sure no family misses out on breastfeeding simply because they didn't have the information, encouragement, or support they needed.

We know that peer support works. Decades of research have shown that when parents have access to trained peer supporters, they're more likely to meet their breastfeeding goals, breastfeed for longer if they choose to, and feel more confident along the way.

For 65 years, that's what La Leche League Canada has been doing. One conversation, one meeting, one late-night message, one family at a time.

If someone made a difference in your breastfeeding journey, we'd love to hear about them. Your story might be the encouragement another parent needs today.

Many parents tell me:

"They nurse perfectly overnight, but daytime feeds are a struggle."

That doesn't necessarily mean your baby suddenly forgot how to breastfeed.

Sometimes babies can compensate while they're sleepy. Once they're fully awake and alert, feeding becomes much harder (and more overwhelming).

There are many possible reasons for this. We’ll talk about this in our weekly drop-ins and inside of our community. Head to the link in bio to join KBC Feeding Circle.

Let’s put to rest for good the false assumptions that bottle-feeding is “easier” for preemies than breastfeeding. Acording to this 2026 RCT, at their first feeding by mouth, preemies breastfed had measurably better oxygen levels and heart rates compared with those whose first oral feed was by bottle. The breastfed preemies even took more milk! Please share these findings far and wide! https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41318959/

Pump fl**ge inserts have gotten a lot of attention lately, but like many things in lactation, they’re a tool, not a universal solution.

A little history…

For many years, most breast pumps only came with 24 mm and 28 mm hard plastic fl**ges. If your ni***es were smaller (which the majority are!), there weren’t many options. Silicone fl**ge inserts became an affordable way to reduce the tunnel size without having to replace the entire fl**ge. They helped thousands of parents get a more comfortable fit when smaller hard plastic fl**ges simply didn’t exist.

Fast forward to today, and the market has changed dramatically.

Many companies now make hard plastic fl**ges in much smaller sizes. Emerging research and clinical experience, including the work of Jeanette Frem and the FITS (Fl**ge Individualized Trial and Selection) Protocol, suggest that many pumping moms achieve better milk removal and ni**le movement with a correctly fitted hard plastic fl**ge rather than relying on a silicone insert.

That doesn’t mean inserts are “bad.”

They still have an important place.

Inserts are often essential for wearable pumps, where replacement hard plastic fl**ges may not even be available. They also allow parents to fine-tune their fit when they fall between sizes or when a particular pump doesn’t offer the fl**ge size they need.

What many people don’t realize is that not all inserts are the same.

Some are made of very soft silicone, while others are firmer. Some have thick walls that reduce the tunnel diameter more dramatically. Others are thin and flexible. Some are short and only line part of the fl**ge tunnel, while others extend much farther down the tunnel. These differences can affect ni**le movement, comfort, suction, and milk removal.

So if one insert didn’t work for you, that doesn’t necessarily mean all inserts won’t.

Just like fl**ge sizing itself, finding the right insert can take some trial and error.

The goal isn’t to use an insert because everyone else is. The goal is to find the combination of fl**ge size, shape, material, and pump settings that allows comfortable, effective milk removal for your body.

Fl**ge fitting is becoming much more individualized than it was even five years ago, and that’s a good thing. We’re moving away from one-size-fits-all recommendations and toward helping each pumper find what works best for them.