Introducing KellyMom: From Breastfeeding to Baby Care 

For this week’s resource, we’re highlighting KellyMom! This favorite online resource provides evidence-based articles across a wide variety of topics from pregnancy to breastfeeding to parenting. 

Kelly is a mom herself and an international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC). She has been supporting mothers and babies since 1997 and has many years of experience working together with families. From this experience, her website provides a compilation of articles with a particular focus on education and support for breastfeeding mothers. There are many topics, however, including baby sleep, health, growth and nutrition, introducing solid foods, and more.  

This resource might be for useful you if you: 

• Are pregnant and planning to breastfeed 
• Have a newborn and are starting your breastfeeding journey 
• Are running into a specific difficult with breastfeeding and need information 
• Have a newborn and are looking for information about baby’s health, nutrition, growth, or development  
• Have a specific question you want answered about breastfeeding or newborn care 
• Find evidence-based resources important when making your parenting decisions 
• Are looking for a general parenting resource! 

Comprehensive Approach 

KellyMom’s website provides a comprehensive approach to breastfeeding support and educational information. With vital support for breastfeeding mothers (as well as for parents in general), each article includes evidence-based information about a particular topic. You can click on a topic area at the top of the website and from there, select a specific area you want to read more about. Amongst the list of available articles, hopefully you find one that can specifically answer whatever question you have!  

If you are looking for information other than relevant for breastfeeding, the website may still be a helpful resource. There are articles about general parenting FAQ, nighttime parenting, hot topics like COVID-19, and baby’s health, growth, and nutrition. 

To help you decide whether this information aligns with your parenting priorities, the point of view of the articles tends towards a more natural and intuitive approach to breastfeeding, baby sleep, and other topics covered. 

Providing Resources 

The central focus of KellyMom’s website is to provide evidence-based resources across a variety of topics, with a specific focus on breastfeeding questions. There are so many common questions addressed on the website that might be ones we are too afraid to ask! 

For example, the breastfeeding section has a category titled “What is Normal?” – something I’ve wondered myself in many different parenting situations! The information in this category answers questions like average weight gain for babies, what to expect when breastfeeding a newborn compared to a toddler, what to do when breastfeeding feels hard, and how to know if baby is getting enough milk. 

The research resources on which the information in the KellyMom articles are based is the gold standard in postpartum care and breastfeeding knowledge. To learn more about reading research publications directly, check out this blog post. Learning from these resources can help you get off to a healthy start to your breastfeeding journey. 

Favorite Features 

As a scientific learner (take the quiz to find your learning style!), one of my favorite aspects of the articles on KellyMom’s website is their evidence-based nature. They are supported by research, but written in a friendly and accessible way. Many of the articles are written in an “FAQ” style so that you can quickly scroll to find the answer to your question, keeping your research efficient! 

I also appreciate how the information focuses on the care of moms. Breastfeeding can be a journey full of ups and downs and there is so much new information to learn. Whether you’re pregnant or running into difficulty with breastfeeding, having a quickly accessible virtual “consultant” like KellyMom can be a great place to start. However, it’s great that it has information for entire families, too! 

You can read the articles about a particular topic you’re looking for at the KellyMom website, as well as learn more in their social media outlet pages!