Key points

Hormones, attachment, psychology, and identity play important, intertwined roles in breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is a skill, and like anything new, it takes time for the baby and parent to figure it out.

We’re still battling the legacy of “hysteria” and systemic bias when it comes to mental health care.

A recent clinical miss for me was waiting too long to have “the talk” with a pregnant client whose baby arrived early.

A few years ago, I began noticing a pattern: clients who were six to 12 months postpartum were coming into session describing unexpected shifts in mood and anxiety . We would search through possible triggers. Then it hit me: breastfeeding might be playing a role. My clinical education hadn’t prepared me to assess breastfeeding experiences at all, and I

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