Breastfeeding pain is common. It is not normal, and you don't have to push through it. Dr. Kellie Soltis is a pelvic PT who found the Thompson method after a painful first breastfeeding experience with her own child, and has been helping other moms ever since.
Audra Zastrow is a pelvic floor PT who spent the better part of a decade navigating pregnancy loss, a major birth injury, prolapse, and four very different deliveries.
Pamela Newman is a therapist who spent her first postpartum experience deep in anxiety, envisioning worst-case scenarios, refusing help, convinced she had to manage everything alone. All without recognizing what was happening until it lifted over a year later.
After nearly 50 hours of failed induction and a C-section, Kate Kate Harris came into the postpartum period with two dreams: holding her baby right away and breastfeeding. Neither went as planned.
In Part 2, Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp picks up the postpartum story with her daughter Elena. She walks through a recovery that was far harder than anyone around her acknowledged -- physically, cognitively, and emotionally -- and the complications that kept compounding in the weeks and years that followed.
Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp's youngest daughter Elena -- an occupational therapist -- turns the tables and interviews her own mother about the birth that almost went catastrophically wrong. Part 1 covers the full birth story. Part 2 takes on the postpartum recovery.
Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp sits down with Swathi Raman, a pediatrician who learned firsthand just how broken postpartum care can be, even for those who work inside the medical system.
In this episode of The Postpartum Years, Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp sits down with Leah to share an honest, deeply personal look at postpartum recovery across three very different births. From diastasis recti and chronic back pain to mastitis, oversupply, tongue ties, and abrupt weaning, Leah reflects on how each postpartum chapter brought new challenges, and new lessons.
In the final part of the series, the focus shifts to what happens after a tongue tie diagnosis — whether or not a release is performed. Mary Ellen and Cat explore bodywork, positioning, and alternative feeding strategies that can improve function and reduce stress for both baby and parent.
n part one of this three-part series, Dr. Mary Ellen Kramp is joined by lactation expert Cat Halek to lay the foundation for understanding tongue ties. They explain what tongue ties are (and aren’t), how they affect an infant’s ability to feed, and why symptoms often show up in both baby and the postpartum parent.
Pain with breastfeeding is problematic for many women. Sometimes it is a problem with the way the baby is latching. Other times it can be an issue with the breast itself. Raynaud Syndrome is one of those causes.
Mastitis is common and it is more than just plugged ducts.
Let’s discuss the issue of not having enough milk. What does it mean? Is it real or just perceived?
Many women have an oversupply of milk. This is a problem that can lead to mastitis and feeding difficulties in the baby. We discuss how to identify this problem and multiple ways to address it.