This blog post is in partnership with NJMOM, RWJBarnabas Health and Monmouth Medical Center.

If you follow me on Instagram, I shared a little bit about a virtual breastfeeding class I took this past Wednesday with Monmouth Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility. So today I want to share with you my experience and talk about breastfeeding.

For some background, I am a mom of two boys, Gabriel 3 years old and Raphael one year old. I was lucky to breastfeed both boys and I can tell you both experiences were very different. With my first boy, I had no experience and it was very challenging but I ended up figuring it out on my own. The second time around, I had lots of support, had a little bit of an idea of what I was doing but the baby did not want to latch. So with breastfeeding comes lots of possibilities and mothers may have lots of questions. But nothing that a bit of practice, patience and the right amount of support wont help.

If you want to breastfeed your baby, but aren’t quite sure where to begin, I highly recommend taking a breastfeeding class. Nursing can be a uniquely soul-nourishing experience with lifelong benefits for both you and your baby. But without guidance, many new parents find themselves underprepared and overwhelmed.

And if you find yourself worrying because of this difficult time we are facing with COVID-19, RWJBarnabas Health is here to help offering virtual ZOOM classes for new and expecting moms to connect online from the comfort of your home.

So I was really excited to have this opportunity to partner with NJMOM and attend virtual Breastfeeding Today Class at the Monmouth Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, and share some of this information with you.

The class is taught by a Board Certified Lactation Consultant and provides guidance and answer questions about how breastfeeding works, how to breastfeed, when to feed your baby, latch issues, breast/nipple pain, milk supply concerns, pumping, returning to work and taking care of yourself.

A few days before the class, we receive a breastfeeding book in the mail. This book also includes a companion web app with a redemption code for you to have access to helpful videos and important breastfeeding information.

At the beginning of the class, the lactation consultant introduces herself and gives the opportunity for all the mothers to do the same. She gives us some guidelines about hospital policies now during COVID and then starts to cover the main subjects of the class.

So if you never seen a newborn breastfeed, don’t know how often to feed your baby, not sure how to tell if your baby is getting enough milk or just feel nervous about breastfeeding and would like to grow your confidence this class covers it all.

The lactation consultant show us interactive videos and have us use a doll or a teddy bear to train positioning and holding the baby to breastfeed. During the class we are able to interact with one another, ask questions and share our own experiences.

This class definitely helps new and expecting moms to have a better understanding about breastfeeding and all the benefits, how your body makes milk, what an effective breastfeeding latch looks like, different breastfeeding positions and also highlights important warning signs and when to look for help.

Breastfeeding is a wonderful experience for you and your baby. Don’t let breastfeeding challenges discourage you during COVID-19. Find the support you need during this beautiful journey. For more information and to register for online classes please visit Monmouth Medical Center website under Maternity Services.