What if you already have what it takes to breastfeed your baby—and just need the right support to unlock it?

This question is at the heart of my conversation with Lisa Paladino, Certified Nurse Midwife, IBCLC, and a fierce advocate for women and babies. Lisa has decades of experience helping families navigate the powerful, joyous, and sometimes confusing, emotional, and occasionally challenging terrain of breastfeeding. Not just a brilliant clinician, but a graduate of both my Women’s Integrative and Functional Medicine and Herbal Medicine for Women training programs… and now, a lifelong friend.

Lisa is the passionate founder of Tongue Tie Experts. She’s spent decades supporting parents through the intense, sacred, and often confusing path of breastfeeding—especially when things don’t go as planned.

Lisa’s journey from hospital-based nurse and midwife to fierce advocate for women’s rights and breastfeeding education is one you won’t forget. And what we unpack in this conversation might change how you see everything from nipple pain to infant sleep—and even adult airway health.

In this episode, we dive into:

What exactly is an IBCLC—and why it matters
The silent struggle of mastitis, milk supply issues, and pain
How breastfeeding shapes your baby’s airway—and possibly lifelong health
The heartbreak of not making enough milk—and how to support yourself
Setting yourself up for breastfeeding success before the baby comes
Why so many moms stop breastfeeding before they want to—and how we can change that
And yes… we go there with nipple toughening myths, lactation cookies, pumping in broom closets, and airplane glares.

Because we’ve all been there—or know someone who has.

💬 Favorite Quotes:

“Breastfeeding is a vital sign of the infant-maternal dyad. If it’s not working, we need to ask why.” — Lisa Paladino

“We’re grown-ass women. Nobody should be telling us what we’re ‘allowed’ to do in birth or postpartum.” — Aviva Romm

In this episode, we dive into:

You deserve real, informed support—not just platitudes or formula handouts.
Breastfeeding might be “natural,” but that doesn’t mean it’s easy or intuitive.
Trusting your instincts is medicine.
Whether you breastfed for two years, two days, or not at all, you’re still a phenomenal mama.

Looking for supplements for yourself and your family, including some of those I talk about in episodes? You can find those - and your 15% discount on every order here: avivaromm.com/supplements

The Mama Pathway is not your average childbirth education program. It's a powerful virtual membership community and online education experience where traditional midwifery wisdom and modern medicine meet to support you on your most empowered path through pregnancy, birth, and beyond. Go to avivaromm.com/mama-pathway to learn more

Mentioned in this episode:

Looking for supplements for yourself and your family, including some of those I talk about in episodes? You can find those - and your 15% discount on every order here: avivaromm.com/supplements

Breastfeeding Challenges, Tongue Tie, & Trusting Your Instincts