Makes Milk with Emma Pickett: breastfeeding from the beginning to the end

Epizode

• Dating and breastfeeding 02.06.2026 1h

  Dating while breastfeeding isn’t often talked about, so this week I’m joined by Frankie (29, Sheffield) and Anna (40, Lancashire) to talk about their experiences. They share candid ‘dating profiles’, then explore their breastfeeding lives and family situations: Anna recently weaned their five-year-old after nursing aversion began when their two-year-old was born, and they co-parent their youngest after two past relationships; Frankie is sole parent to her two-year-old, who breastfeeds frequen...
• Weaning and natural term breastfeeding Q&A with Carly from Seedpod Part 2 26.05.2026 55min

  This week, we have the return of the brilliant Carly Facius, Midwife, IBCLC, Women's Circle Facilitator and Aware Parenting Mentor. She’s joining me to answer your questions about weaning and natural term breastfeeding in two back-to-back episodes. In part 2, we delve into question topics ranging from night weaning and bedtime routines to dealing with biting, hitting and kicking. To find a list of questions, please consult the transcript of this episode. You can find out more abou...
• Weaning and natural term breastfeeding Q&A with Carly from Seedpod Part 1 26.05.2026 1h 2min

  This week, we have the return of the brilliant Carly Facius, Midwife, IBCLC, Women's Circle Facilitator and Aware Parenting Mentor. She’s joining me to answer your questions about weaning and natural term breastfeeding in two back-to-back episodes. This is Part 1. We delve into question topics ranging from weaning a toddler while tandem feeding, coping with a distressed child at night, and what normal sleep even is! To find a list of questions, please consult the transcript of this epis...
• Jade's story - pregnant with HG and breastfeeding 19.05.2026 52min

  Sometimes, our plans for feeding don’t work out. That’s what happened to my guest this week, Jade Feeney from north west London. Jade had hoped to tandem feed, but ended up weaning her eldest daughter during pregnancy due to hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). She shares a “dream” first breastfeeding experience with her eldest, later identifying cow’s milk protein intolerance when weaning solids, but when she conceived again when her daughter was 18 months and developed severe HG, she required escal...
• Jessica's story - a breastfeeding police officer 12.05.2026 52min

  This week, I’m speaking to the brilliant Jessica, a police officer in Stirling, Scotland, about combining breastfeeding with police work and shift patterns. Jessica shares life with her two daughters, Nora (nearly 10) and Harriet (nearly 2), describing responsive breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and how Harriet settles well for her father and grandmother when Jessica works rotating day shifts and back shifts finishing at 1am. They discuss Jessica’s earlier breastfeeding experience with Nora, which...
• Isabella's story - tandem feeding and tandem weaning 05.05.2026 58min

  Today I’m talking to the lovely Isabella from near Vienna, Austria, about breastfeeding her two sons, Jonathan (2½) and Valentin (1). Isabella describes generally good breastfeeding support and mixed feeding norms in Austria, and how her early postpartum pain settled with midwife help. She became pregnant unexpectedly when Jonathan was 10 months old while using natural family planning, and assumed she should wean. She made several attempts but didn’t feel committed to a process that was...
• Sam’s story - natural term feeding, tandem feeding and breastfeeding advocacy 28.04.2026 57min

  This week, I’m talking to the brilliant Sam Kennedy Christian from Herne Bay, Kent, about her breastfeeding journey while 29 weeks pregnant and feeding her three-year-old. We discuss gentle night weaning using a clock and flexibility during illness or distress, co-sleeping changes ahead of a new baby, and Sam’s previous tandem feeding experience when her eldest breastfed until six years old, including boundaries and supporting sibling feelings about fairness. Sam talks about pelvic girdle pai...
• Georgina's story - slow to solids 21.04.2026 1h

  Today, I’m joined by the lovely Georgina Gregor from Devon to talk about her breastfeeding journeys with her two children, three-year-old Amaya and nine-month-old Lucas. Georgina recounts early breastfeeding pain, mastitis, hospital readmission for Amaya’s 13.7% weight loss, and a later tongue-tie diagnosis and release at 10 months linked to solids difficulties. Amaya’s disinterest in food and love of breastfeeding meant that her start with solids was slow, and Georgina had to carry on with p...
• Breastfeeding in palliative care with Dr Laura Thomas 14.04.2026 53min

  This week, I’m honoured to be joined by Dr. Laura Thomas, a community pediatrician from Reading, La Leche League leader, and breastfeeding peer supporter, to talk about breastfeeding in pediatric palliative care. Laura explains her day-to-day work with neurodiversity and neurodisability, her training and her own breastfeeding experiences. We discuss Laura’s masters project using a questionnaire for palliative care and pediatric staff, which found breastfeeding is often not considered unless f...
• Auden's story - a non-binary nursing journey 07.04.2026 1h 10min

  This week, I’m pleased to be joined by Auden Krauska, a non-binary parent of two originally from Wisconsin now living near Copenhagen, to talk about their nursing journeys and the complexities of lactation alongside gender dysphoria and healthcare systems. Auden describes binding, being misgendered, considering top surgery but delaying it to lactate, and stopping testosterone to conceive. Their first pregnancy involved hyperemesis, followed by a home birth, sidelying nursing, a newborn hospit...
• Emma's story - breastfeeding and being hospitalised 31.03.2026 1h 7min

  This week, I’m joined by the brilliant Emma Erskine-Fox, a Bristol-area lawyer, ABM peer supporter, and mother, to talk about breastfeeding her daughter Isabelle to nearly age four, including a gentle self-weaning ending. Emma describes being breastfed herself, antenatal education that helped normalise cluster feeding, an induced birth ending in an emergency caesarean, early latch and weight-loss difficulties resolved with midwife and IBCLC support, and some intense cluster feeding. She also ...
• Danielle's story - an IGT journey 24.03.2026 1h 2min

  This week, I’m welcoming Danielle Kyaligonza, who joins me from Uganda to talk about her breastfeeding journey with insufficient glandular tissue (IGT). Danielle describes a positive planned C-section birth in Cheshire, but on day five her baby Annie had lost 13% of birth weight and was later found to be severely dehydrated. This led to hospital admission, formula supplementation, and a traumatic start with pumping and limited breastfeeding support on a children’s ward. After weeks of triple ...
• Emily's story - 'bainne', allergies and an unplanned separation 17.03.2026 1h 2min

  This week I’m talking to the lovely Emily from Glasgow about breastfeeding her two-year-old son Finn alongside multiple IgE food allergies and an unplanned separation. Emily and Finn call breastfeeding “bainne” (Gaelic for milk) to avoid confusion because Finn is allergic to cow’s milk. We discuss Finn’s allergy protocols, EpiPen use, contact reactions, and attempts at the milk ladder that caused hives, plus ongoing plans around night weaning. Emily shares a difficult birth, severe early brea...
• Nicole's story - squiggly motherhood, exclusive breastfeeding and a home birth 10.03.2026 1h 4min

  This week, I’m honoured to be joined by Nicole from South London, the host and founder of the Squiggly Motherhood podcast. Nicole started the podcast because she couldn’t find motherhood content that reflected her experience as an exclusively breastfeeding Black mother working in a senior corporate role, and she wanted space for the two truths that motherhood can be both hard and loved at the same time, with practical, values-led gentle parenting reflections. Nicole shares her feeding journey...
• Breastfeeding a 5 year old with Natalie and Dana 03.03.2026 1h 5min

  I’ve got two amazing mums for you this week in a bumper episode about feeding five year olds. Natalie, in Cornwall, breastfeeds her 5-year-old daughter Georgia mainly at bedtime (and occasionally in the morning or when ill), and describes how continuing breastfeeding helped with starting school, bedtime regulation, co-sleeping, and meeting Georgia’s high attachment needs. She discusses societal pressure, comments Georgia received from her classmates, her own feelings about reclaiming her body...
• Exclusive pumping with Dr Kelsey Bianca 24.02.2026 55min

  This week, I’m pleased to be joined by Dr. Kelsey Bianca, an academic researcher and certified lactation counselor from Maryland, USA. Dr. Bianca shares her personal experience with breastfeeding and exclusive pumping, which inspired her PhD thesis - a qualitative study of women who exclusively expressed milk. She discusses her research work involving pumping, the decisions parents face, and her studies on children’s literature about breastfeeding. The conversation delves into practical aspec...
• Philippa's story - breastfeeding as a blind mum with IGT 17.02.2026 1h 17min

  My guest this week is an impressive mother of four, Philippa Lomas. She is a single parent. She homeschools her two older children. She trained as an ABM breastfeeding counsellor. She volunteers to support new parents, and she does all this without sight, having been born blind. We’ll be talking about all that, but also her struggles with Insufficient Glandular Tissue (IGT). Philippa shares her experiences with breast augmentation surgery, multiple miscarriages, mental health challenges, supp...
• Lorah's story - breastfeeding after a thyroid cancer diagnosis 10.02.2026 1h 1min

  This week’s guest is the amazing Lorah, from Leeds. Lorah is a mother of four, who found herself pregnant with her son, Luca, during her treatment for thyroid cancer. She shares her journey of breastfeeding her four children, who all had different challenges, and the emotional rollercoaster tied to her cancer treatment and weaning. She discusses her support systems and the difficult decision to delay treatment so that she could breastfeed Luca. Lorah highlights the emotional and physical stru...
• Emilia's story - formula fed my first, breastfed my second 03.02.2026 1h 2min

  Today’s guest is Emilia Kalyvides, a graphic designer and mum of two from North London. Emilia faced a lot of challenges with feeding her first child, including a tongue tie, extreme pain from her milk coming in, and a postnatal mental health crisis, which led her to choosing to bottle feed. She found out that she was pregnant with her daughter very quickly (they are just 16 months apart) and vowed that she would do things differently the second time around. After a lot of research and prepar...
• Emily's story - being a vet and breastfeeding 27.01.2026 1h 2min

  This week I’m talking to the brilliant Emily, a farm vet from Bath, about her breastfeeding journey. Emily, who returned to work when her son Arty was six months old, shares the challenges and strategies she used to manage breastfeeding while on call and working with farm animals. We discuss the logistics of expressing milk, handling emergencies, and the adaptability of both mother and child. Emily also talks about her initial breastfeeding difficulties, and the support from her husband...