We Delve Into The Amazing World Of Breastfeeding - We Were Shocked!
- Ryan Dutton
- Oct 20
- 4 min read
As a dad, I've seen some miracles!
From the amazing milestones during pregnancy ('amazing' not being my mrs's first choice of words).
To the birth itself! (Narrowly avoided passing out on a couple of occasions).
To now watching this little alien looking thing turn into our precious young girl.
Harlow is nearly 3 now, and for the first 18 months of her life she lived primarily on breastmilk.
So I've witnessed breastfeeding. Been around it. And to be honest, naively, I thought I knew most of the ins and outs.
How wrong I was!
This week on the podcast we sat down with Jessica Avill from Love To Latch.
A specialist in helping mums master breastfeeding and assisting them with what, I now know, can be some of the most trying times as mum.
Some Facts
In fact a study found that around 70.3% of mothers reported at least one breastfeeding difficulty (not latching, cracked nipples, perception of insufficient milk, pain, fatigue).
Harlow and Amy seemed to crack it straight from the off, but according to Jess this far from the norm.
In England in 2023-24, around 52.7% of infants were being breastfed at 6 to 8 weeks.
That implies about 47.3% of infants were not being breastfed (any breast milk) by 6 to 8 weeks.
For younger mothers (<20 years old) the rate not breastfed at 6-8 weeks was around 78.8%.
At birth, UK initiation was ~81% in 2010 (so about ~19% did not initiate breastfeeding).
Exclusive breastfeeding drops dramatically: at 6 months in the UK, only ~1% of babies are exclusively breastfed.
We used formula as a top up, so were't in that 1% of exclusive breastfeeders. But it still seemed to come naturally.
Jess made very clear that not latching straight away was a big issues with her first child. She experienced immense amounts of pain whilst breastfeeding which lead her to seek out help from several professionals.
They concluded that her son had what's called tongue tie. Approximately 10% of children under 1 have this. Which massively impacts the breastfeeding process.
How Breastmilk is Tailored to Each Baby
During our conversation we discussed the remarkable way breastmilk is tailored to each individual baby.
When a baby breastfeeds, it’s not a one-way process. There’s actually a bi-directional exchange happening between the baby and the breast.
Here’s how it works:
During breastfeeding, tiny amounts of the baby’s saliva flow back into the nipple and milk ducts. This is known as “retrograde milk flow.”
This saliva contains information about the baby’s body — including bacteria, viruses, immune signals, and enzymes.
Think of it like the baby sending a biochemical message to the mother’s body.
The breast tissue contains immune receptors and cells (like macrophages and lymphocytes) that detect what’s in the saliva.
If saliva contains signs of an infection (like pathogens or inflammatory molecules), the mother’s immune system picks this up.
Messages are sent to the mammary glands to adjust the milk accordingly.
In response to the signals from the baby’s saliva, the breast can change the milk to better support the baby. Like a real time prescription.
Bacteria / Virus signs = Antibodies (especially IgA), immune cells
Signs of inflammation or illness = Anti-inflammatory agents, white blood cells
Growth demands (e.g. during growth spurts) = More fat, protein, calories
Gut bacteria imbalance = Prebiotics (HMOs) that feed good gut bacteria
This absolutely blew our mind. A confirmed, once again, just how insane the human body actually is.
How Dads Can Help!
One of the big topics of discussion was the role dads play in all this.
Personally, I always felt like a bit of a spare part. I recounted times when I would get up in the night hoping to settle crying Harlow, only for hell to break lose in screaming fits.
Enter Amy, and suddenly everything was rosie.
I know it's because she wanted "the good stuff" in Amy's breast milk. But you can't help but feel slightly rejected in those moments.
Jess's advice was the opposite of what I was doing. Don't help the baby, help the mum.
Small gestures go a long way. Whether it's making lunch/tea. Brining snacks and water. Helping out with chores around the house. All the things that mum would usually have to do, but can't because she's pre-occupied in breastfeeding.
(Definitely advice I could have done with 2 years ago lol)
Also, small comments of encouragement are more valuable than we know, according to Jess. Telling your other half how natural she looks breastfeeding, how easy she makes it look, how your little one looks so peaceful during it.
These seemingly insignificant comments go a long way it making mums feel more confident in what, for most new mums, is actually a tiring and stressful time.
To say Brad and I learnt loads during this chat, is an understatement.
We've both only go one child, but if there was ever any more, I feel a lot more confident about how to pull my weight.
You can listen to the full episode on apple podcasts and Spotify. Or check out the video on YouTube.
Ryan
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