Olympian Allyson Felix shares how her team helps her navigate motherhood, entrepreneurship, and advocacy
It’s not every day that a group of powerhouse women gather to speak openly and honestly about the challenges of navigating motherhood — and how support from others makes it all possible. A few weeks ago, we brought together a group of journalists and businesswomen to hear The Lactation Network’s (TLN) CEO, Sarah Kellogg Neff, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) Leah Tribus, and 11-time Olympic medalist, entrepreneur, and mother, Allyson Felix, discuss the importance of maternal healthcare access. Felix is a maternal health advocate, the founder of Saysh, a footwear company that makes shoes designed for women’s feet, and a mother of two. Felix decided not to compete in the 2024 Olympics, but her impact will still be felt. She partnered with Pampers to launch the first-ever nursery in the Olympic Village.
Speaking of Olympians — IBCLCs see incredible feats of physical and mental strength from breastfeeding parents every day. It’s only fitting that we hear from a champion who did both.
Felix has shown tireless dedication to rewriting the narrative of motherhood. She went toe-to-toe with Nike to secure motherhood protections (and wrote about it for The New York Times), changing the game for other female athletes. Her pioneering work parallels perfectly with The Lactation Network’s offering of insurance-covered, in-home care for breastfeeding parents (a model completely new in the maternal healthcare landscape). Trailblazers, indeed.
Here are four key takeaways from our thoughtful, revealing conversation.
Breastfeeding the second time around isn’t necessarily easier; it’s just different.
Felix shared that she thought breastfeeding her second child would be easier since she’d done it before but found out that it came with its own set of new challenges. Tribus posited that support is still valuable and needed after the first baby. “Having an IBCLC to help you during these changes can make it a better experience and a little less stressful,” she said. “I think that what I found is that each family is just deeply unique. Each baby is deeply unique. And recognizing that you can have hiccups, even if you’re a seasoned parent, is important.”
Meeting with an IBCLC before baby arrives can cut down on breastfeeding stress.
Felix met with her IBCLC before the birth of her second child and found it to be incredibly helpful. “There’s the physical part of it, but there’s also the emotional part as well that’s very heavy in a time where you already have so many hormones and emotions and all of the things,” she says of navigating breastfeeding right after the baby is born. “Talking to my lactation consultant, I said, ‘Okay, what is my game plan?’ And it is great to have family and friends, but everyone has their opinion, so it’s nice to have that trusted source.”
Establishing your postpartum care team will set you up for success.
Felix mentioned that she leans on her team frequently, from her husband to her family and friends. With both an IBCLC and a trusted doctor, Felix has others she can turn to for help and professional advice, who can answer her breastfeeding questions. Tribus highlighted that an IBCLC provides crucial support and can connect families to a broader network of people who can help. “[IBCLCs] know their communities, which is amazing. That consultant will be able to make referrals to help that parent find resources they need,” she said. “Whether it is something like food insecurity, mental health screenings, or occupational therapy. They know the family deeply and then know what resources are needed to create their interdisciplinary care team.”
There’s been some progress in Black maternal health, but there’s still a long way to go.
Felix is proud of her accomplishments to date, and she’s looking forward to continuing her advocacy work. “One thing that’s at the top of my list is just continuing [the push] for medical providers to get training around implicit bias and just to hear women of color. What I hear constantly is, ‘I’m telling my doctor something is wrong, and they’re not hearing me, I’m being dismissed.’” TLN partners with lactation groups specifically focused on Black parents to ensure that Black families receive culturally competent, insurance-covered care.
We’re so thrilled to have found a partner in Allyson Felix — we’re inspired by her vulnerability around the challenges of motherhood and her advocacy for Black families. She will join us this September for the inaugural 2024 TLN Summit, where we will host hundreds of TLN IBCLCs. This gathering offers two days of inspiring, informative content that centers, fortifies, and supports the entrepreneurial pursuits and clinical care goals of the IBCLC community.
Watching Felix sit amongst a group of smart women dedicated to building a better world for breastfeeding parents, it was clear that TLN’s mission of providing insurance-covered lactation care is part of a growing parent advocacy movement. Whether at a nursery in the Olympic village, at home consulting with an IBCLC, or sharing their stories on social media, breastfeeding champions are everywhere.
We’re here for you, every step of the way. We work with your insurance to provide in-home, in-office, or telehealth visits with an IBCLC.
