I just wanted to share my experience in case it helps another mom. In the first week after bringing my baby home, she developed jaundice. Besides the blue light therapy, we were told the main way to clear it was for her to feed a lot so that she could pass the bilirubin out through her stools.

A year ago I rejoined the LLL community, after an absence of 10 years, when my third baby was born (2024). Having a baby again after so long made me feel like a first time mom and I needed all the breastfeeding advice I could get – especially since this time my experience would be very different from before. 

I am a South African living in Germany. My baby daughter (now 9 months) arrived at 41 weeks and weighed 4,8kg. Directly after the birth, the hospital recommended observations for 48 hours at the neonatal clinic (a different section in the hospital) because she weighed more than 4,5kg and her blood sugar level and temperature had to be checked.

My baby girl cried a lot and I phoned Avrille every day for support. I attended her LLL meetings from the next month (May 1982) and never missed a meeting for years. LLLSA became our family's lifeline. Eventually, I also trained to become a LLL volunteer group Leader two years later.

Our son was born at 37 weeks and spent his first two weeks in NICU. From a few days after birth he was visibly jaundiced (yellowish), but initially this was monitored without treatment.

A local volunteer from the La Leche League South Africa recently attended an international breastfeeding conference held in Lima, Peru where she not only rubbed shoulders with like minded individuals from across the world, but also learned more about the work they do, how their non-profit organisation (NPO) came into existence, while also having the opportunity to explore the South American country.

A local volunteer jetted off to Lima, Peru in South America this week to attend an international breastfeeding conference where she hopes to learn more from other volunteers from around the world on ways to better inform, educate and support breastfeeding mothers.

I wanted to share my story in the hope that it brings encouragement to another mama who might be feeling the way I did just a few months ago. 

Like many mothers, I was incredibly excited to begin my breastfeeding journey after my baby was born. Breastfeeding felt like such a natural and beautiful experience—I never imagined that anything could go wrong.

My first full-blown mastitis didn’t happen as a brand-new mother. It came with my third child – and not even in the early months. I woke up one morning with my breast swollen, an aching body, fever, and excruciating pain while breastfeeding.

I've been in the Parow WhatsApp group since 2023 and am so glad that I never left. When my second baby was born this year, I felt so uncertain of myself that I reached out for help again.

This is the story of my breastfeeding journey—a journey that started in confusion and pain, but thankfully led me to healing and joy. I share it with the hope that it might spare another mom the trauma I went through the first time around, and offer encouragement that things can be different.

My 4-month-old exclusively breastfed baby had been refusing the breast all of a sudden. I knew he was hungry, but he just pulled away.

Gwynneth is a Leader in Cape Town. She is passionate about supporting working moms and has served in various admin roles within LLLSA.

How do I get my baby used to the boob again? I noticed many moms experiencing the same issue I had, so I wanted to share my story.

I want to share my joy of co-sleeping with my 5 month old boy.

At the hospital they gave him formula in a bottle, which raised his sugar, but unfortunately he stopped latching onto me after that.

I was adamant that breastfeeding was what I wanted to continue doing. I had tried for five daunting weeks to get my baby to take a bottle.

I’m a mom of three and I breastfed with success before so it never occurred to me that I would have so much difficulty with my third child.

The riveting saga of Wilken, the pint-sized revolutionary who staged a one-baby protest against the bottle industry, awaited me.