I recently worked with a mother during her pregnancy and encouraged her to reach out as soon as her baby was born.
She didn’t—and that matters.
By the time we connected, her baby had lost 12% of birth weight. She was using nipple shields and had been advised to “triple feed” by her pediatrician in an effort to address weight loss.
This is not an uncommon story.
And it’s not a failure of motivation or effort.
What it highlights is the critical gap between prenatal education and immediate postpartum support.
When lactation challenges are addressed after significant weight loss, exhaustion, and fear set in, families are already in crisis mode. Interventions become reactive instead of preventive. Confidence erodes. Physiology is harder to protect.
Nipple shields and triple feeding can be useful tools—but without skilled assessment, follow-up, and a clear exit strategy, they often add complexity rather than resolution.
The takeaway isn’t “call sooner.”
The takeaway is build systems that make early support automatic, visible, and expected.
Breastfeeding outcomes improve when:
• Families know who to contact and when
• Lactation support is integrated into newborn care
• Pediatric providers and IBCLCs collaborate early
• Interventions are paired with reassessment—not default escalation
Early connection changes trajectories.
Prevention is quieter than crisis—but it’s far more powerful.