52 | Can Music Shift the Motherhood Narrative? Emily Rose Gets Raw About Breastfeeding, Postpartum, and 'Mouths to Feed'
- jaimiezaki
- Aug 8
- 32 min read
Female country artist shunned by Nashville for not being "Country Enough" but Emily Rose's music becomes every Country Mama's Anthem during World Breastfeeding Week
Can Music Shift the Motherhood Narrative? Emily Rose Gets Raw About Breastfeeding, Postpartum, and 'Mouths to Feed'
What if one viral song could change the way society views breastfeeding and postpartum?
In this episode of the Breastfeeding With Confidence podcast, I sit down with Emily Rose—songwriter, mother of two, and the honest voice behind Mouths to Feed—to unpack the story behind her music, motherhood journey, and mission to normalize the raw, beautiful, messy truths of postpartum life.
We talk about the isolation that so many new moms face, how Emily’s own experience with postpartum depression shaped her songwriting, and why her viral lyrics are resonating with mothers everywhere. From dealing with oversupply and conflicting advice to navigating the impossible standards of balancing a music career and motherhood, this conversation is a breath of fresh air—and a rally cry for visibility and support.
🎙 In this episode, we dive into:
Why Emily wrote Mouths to Feed and how it became a viral anthem for breastfeeding mothers
The emotional rollercoaster of postpartum depression and the power of honest storytelling
How music can be a tool for healing, community, and challenging harmful motherhood narratives
The hidden grief of breastfeeding regrets and why preparation in pregnancy matters
Oversupply, misinformation, and why it’s hard to ask for help even when you're drowning
The culture of “bounce back” and how celebrity motherhood distorts real expectations
The kind of support new moms actually need—and what’s still missing
Whether you’re pregnant, postpartum, or just tired of seeing motherhood misrepresented in the media, this episode will hit home.
✨ Want to feel more prepared for breastfeeding than you ever thought possible?
Follow Emily Rose on Instagram
Listen to Mouths to Feed on Spotify
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Transcript:
Hey Mama Bear. Welcome to the Breastfeeding With Confidence podcast. Do you dream of bonding with your baby through exclusive breastfeeding, but worry about breastfeeding pain or low milk supply? Maybe you're struggling with breastfeeding and no one seems to have any answers. I'm Jamie Doula, international Board certified lactation consultant, and Mom of five, and I have been where you are after working through painful latches, milk supply worries, and postpartum depression, and.
Supporting countless mothers through their breastfeeding journeys for over eight years. I'm here to tell you breastfeeding doesn't have to be perfect to be positive. Each week I'll share breastfeeding tips to help you prevent and overcome unexpected breastfeeding challenges so you can actually enjoy bonding with your baby.
If you are ready to shut out the toxic whispers of the world, embrace your God-given intuition and release your inner fierce Mama bear. Grab some coffee or your favorite herbal tea and let's dive in.
Alright everybody, we are back to the Breastfeeding With Confidence Podcast and I am so excited about our guest today because if you have been on Instagram lately and you are a breastfeeding mom, you know that Emily Rose is taking Instagram by storm with her song Mouths to Feed, and she's here to talk about normalizing breastfeeding during world breastfeeding week, what it's like to be a mom and share her feelings about motherhood with music and art and.
The music industry's reaction to that. So I'm excited to get into it with you today, Emily. I'm so glad to have you here. Can you say hi to everybody? Introduce yourself. Hello. Hello everyone. Hi, I'm Emily., I'm just so excited to be here. Thanks for having me. Yeah. So how many little ones do you have? So I have one.
He's three and a half and crazy as ever. Oh my gosh. Three year olds. Whew. Yeah, it's, it's like lots of imagination, lots of playtime and lots of emotions. Yeah. Really big emotions. My um, 4-year-old today, I was so frustrated 'cause he's just making this giant mess and I was like, buddy, you have such like a beautifully cre creative mind.
Can we use it to create, not destroy? Yeah. And he goes, my brain is just different. It's yellow and shaped like a heart. Like what? Oh my God, that's hilarious. It's the things they say at this age is just, you don't know what you're gonna get minute to minute. But, um, yeah. So I am like so excited to have you here.
I want to talk about your transition into motherhood and maybe what your breastfeeding journey was like to go ahead and inspire you to write such. Powerful music that I think connects with what so many of us feel, but don't have the words to say. Yeah. Well, so when did I get pregnant? I think it was, well I guess it was 20, 20, 21.
I was 29 and you know, the, I feel like with my music career, I just kind of kept getting like the wind taken out of my sails. We had COVID and then found out I was pregnant and. You know, there's kind of like this stigma, I feel like, and I feel like a lot of women would agree with me, were trying to change it.
But that if you're a mom, like, you know, you're kind of your kind of like career could be over basically. Mm-hmm. Or like, how are you gonna balance being a mom and doing music and being an artist and touring and whatever. There's not a lot of support for that. And I definitely had that in my mind.
And even like pregnant, I was like, who's gonna wanna see a pregnant woman singing on stage? And many people were like, hello? Me? Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So, so that was great. So basically like for me, like I really thought like having this baby like, was like, okay, you know, I guess like the artist stuff is probably gonna be done for, and, and maybe I'll keep writing 'cause so I got pregnant, uh, wasn't sure how I was gonna fit music into my life and kind of just like didn't. So I had, I had Rex, Rex is his name, and. Um, at first it was beautiful and my husband is a touring musician, so he's a bass player.
So I kind of told, was in my head like, well, you do the music and I'll, you know, I'll figure it out. But so he, we had our baby thankfully in December, and so he was off the road, which was perfect, so he didn't go back till February. So I had my husband home with me for like. Maybe a month and a half. So the first month and a half was amazing.
It was like super blissful and everything. And I had all this help and then, you know, and everybody checks in on you and that kind of starts to go away as your baby gets older. And my husband started going back on tour and I was kind of like doing a lot of the heavy lifting by myself. We didn't have any family here, and so I just didn't even really pick up a guitar or anything.
. For like, I don't even know. It was probably like the first like four months, like. Nothing, I just didn't, didn't know how it fit in my life anymore. And I started listening to podcasts, you know, on the stroller rides. Just trying to clear your head and shuffle through your thoughts. 'cause I really struggled with postpartum depression, especially later on.
Like, I don't think I even realized I had it until I was like six months. Yeah, pregnant or I mean six months postpartum. And I wanna say that's like really common for a lot of people. It's not always right there in the beginning. It's it especially 'cause postpartum not to get too off track can be so connected to nutritional deficiencies and lack of sleep, and like all these different factors that it can really manifest a lot later.
And so if you are listening to this, don't think you're crazy just because it's. Later. It's not always right away. Well, and it makes sense because like, like I said, I had all that help. I had my husband and you know, it makes sense as, as he started leaving and I was like also getting a little like jealous and you know, like we're in the same industry and he was continuing and I just had to like, my life was completely stopped.
We weren't really necessarily planning on this first baby. And so that, you know, that had its whole nother like bag of things. Um mm-hmm. So I just started thinking like, how, how can I, how can I do this? Like, how can I, I still like kind of feeling that jealousy reminded me, like, oh, I still wanna do that.
Like, I still wanna have a career. I wanna try to do music. And so I was like, well, I've always . Been proud of myself for writing very truthful lyrics and just kind of like writing what I'm experiencing. And I was like, well, why don't I just do that with motherhood? Mm-hmm. And so, um, I just started writing down like titles like.
You know, uh, village. And I wrote down guilty and I wrote down back to work because everyone was asking me like, when are you getting back to your normal life? Um, and just, and mouth to feed. Like I would just write down those titles. And I was like, these are just things that go on that I like, have to, I have to write songs about these.
And so it ended up being a whole album's worth. It's amazing. Can you hear that plane flying over? Is that loud? Yeah. Is was that a plane? Yeah, it's, I thought it was me. I was like, am my not No, we, I just texted my husband, I'm like so mad. He has no power over this, but, um, he's in the Air Force and we live south of the base and I texted him, I'm like, can you tell these jets not to fly over in full burner for the next hour, please.
Oh my gosh. Seriously. We're trying to, we're trying to talk here. I was like, I was like, can you, can you do something about this? Knowing full well he can not do anything about it, but it's just, it's okay. It's, that's hilarious. It's real life. Right? And that's what we're talking about today is real life.
Your Instagram is big on talking about how like you didn't get the best reception. , From the music industry on this song. Yeah. And when we talked, you told me that, , you were kind of told some things like, oh, this isn't really country. And I literally like laughed out loud because I'm like, what is country if it's not real life?
Yeah. And right. Real life. And I'm like, I'm thinking of some of the music that is on the radio today, and I'm like. I'm not gonna call anybody out, but there's a, a certain very top artist that I cannot stand and I'm like, they're gonna call that country and this is what, so I, um, yeah. Uh, the difference there is when we're talking about drinking and cheating and, you know, all the ugly things, it's okay.
But if we're talking about the ugly side or the beautiful side, or the complex side of motherhood, suddenly it's not real. Can you kind of tell me some of your thoughts around this? Kind of what happened, the process that you've been going through? Yeah. Well, I mean, I think, well, first of all, I wanted to make people feel uncomfortable with what I was writing because I want, I'm like, if they're squirming, that means that like I'm really am being honest.
It's good to make people feel uncomfortable. That's what music is supposed to do.
It's supposed to make people think, it's supposed to evoke emotion, not just like, make you feel better about being an alcoholic. Um, yeah. I think that it's just taboo and you know, like. I, I don't know. I tried to like find other artists that have done, like, leaned into motherhood hardcore, and I, I haven't really found any.
I mean, there's like songs and of course Loretta Lynn, like, and she was a trailblazer and you know, she really like, spoke about a lot of things, but. I do think that like, it just wasn't palatable. Like it was like, Ooh, why did she say breast? Like, why is she talking about, not wanting to have sex with her husband or you know, all of these things.
I think that it was really the subject matter. 'cause I mean, the album is country, like the steel guitars and do bros and mandolins, you know what I mean? So, yeah, no, there's no way anybody can like. I, uh, that blew my mind. I think it was more like, how would we market this? Like, and I think even still, it's like, you know, I've gotten, well, if this becomes successful, like, who would you open for?
You know? And like, because you know, my songs are about motherhood. I'm like, I don't know. I'm like, well, what about like a person who sings about like partying and a person who's sing about heartbreak? Like, what's, what's the difference? You know? Yeah. No, I mean, if we've got love songs. Talking about marriage, we're talking about sex.
Do people realize what comes after that? Like I would guarantee. A large percentage of people at your concerts are mothers or fathers who like, don't discount dads understanding this. Yeah. Like dads get it. Dads see what their wives go through and And there's struggle there for them too. Witnessing that and so to see like, oh, there's somebody like putting into words what my wife is feeling like.
Yeah. I think there's power in that as well. It's not like your songs are all just like sad ballads. They're like fun. Like you, you make these feelings and emotions like fun still. Yeah. So, um, yeah. That's, that's crazy. So what's kinda your game plan now? So you were like, that's fine, they don't want this, I'm gonna go to Instagram and prove there is a market for this.
Yeah, basically. I mean, that was always the goal anyway. Like, I, you know, I never really was thinking of this album as being mainstream. I mean, like, honestly, if this album doesn't. Do any, do anything, you know, like I am so proud of it and I have it for myself. Like I listen to the songs, like they helped me get through and
it was definitely more of like a mission of just putting, like, putting these feelings into lyrics and music and that was my goal in the first place. I was like, I just need to get this to the moms, like. Point blank. Yeah. And if other people find it and like it too, like that's great.
Um, but yeah, I mean, where else would you go then? Social media to find all the moms? Absolutely. They're, they're starting to find it and that's what's making me so happy. The other day a mom messaged me and was like, I'm breastfeeding my baby at my kids' soccer game. And I'm just like singing mouth to feed in my head to like pump me up.
And I'm like, that is all I ever wanted. Like I just. I felt really alone and I felt really isolated in a lot of my feelings. And, , writing these songs with other women who are also moms in music really helped me, hearing their stories and hearing their struggles and then finding other women on social media talking about their struggles.
Like that's literally the only thing. Help me. , That's why this album exists. I, I love it. I love it. Um, speaking of mouths to Feed specifically, since that's the one that I feel like so many of us relate to, um, yeah. And it's really probably the most outspoken of them all, in my opinion, because it's like.
It's calling out this double standard that society has with women and with breastfeeding. And we're gonna say breast is best, but you've gotta hide it. We're gonna ale women's bodies until they're doing what they're made to do. And now you're a dirty, shameful, like, should be hidden. It's like society has a major issue and you like you ripped that wide open.
So can you tell me like what inspired that song specifically? What inspired it mostly was my friend, um, she went to the zoo with her family and she came home that day and she was texting me and she was like, this old man was like giving me dirty, looks like while I was just breastfeeding, like very modestly at the zoo.
At the zoo with other mammals that are probably also nursing. They're young. The zoo is a place for families anyway. I was just like, that kind of like cracked that idea open for me because, , there is such a stigma around it and it's just like, it's so crazy. I, I'm just like, if it makes you feel uncomfortable, that feels like a you problem and like, don't look like, I don't know what to tell you.
Writing that song was, 'cause I didn't feel confident breastfeeding in public. Um, I mean, I did, and I tried the covering up situation, but I like who, who can like, like that's asking to do it blindly like I have to. Mm-hmm. I had to like see what was going on. . Also like would you want to eat with like a blanket over your head?
I don't think so. I know, I know. I, um, remember in 2021, no, it was 2019. I had just had my daughter and my husband deployed and so I moved back with my parents and my friend just had her baby about the same time and it was like her third baby and she went into a restaurant. And was nursing her baby in the restaurant and the manager came over and was like, you're making people uncomfortable.
You need to cover up or leave. Oh yeah. It turned into a big thing like we did, like we tried to do a nurse in, but then they were like closed that day, so we just stood on the sidewalk and there were like news crews, like we were like, oh my God. Making a big deal about it. But that's like, that was in 2019 and still makes people uncomfortable.
I get comments every single day on my Instagram. Saying things like, this is a sacred thing between a mom and a baby. It's beautiful, but it should be behind closed doors. Like why? Yeah. Like, and, and the thing that upsets me most, and this is another reason why I find like the whole like uneditable for country music is like, it's always like, and I am saying this as a like Catholic Christian mother, it's always the Christians that are like, that's sacred.
It should be hidden. And it's like. But we're using our bodies the way God intended. Like you have a problem with sexualization, but by trying to hide this, you're inherently sexualizing it. Yeah. So what we're supposed to glorify sexuality, but hide exactly what God designed us to. Do. Yeah. And so, so I feel like, you know, country music kind of has some overlap with like the Christian like roots and everything and Yeah.
And it's, it's kind of like you think about it and you're like, so the, these, these like hard up Christians can't talk about motherhood and breastfeeding, but Right. We can still talk about. I'm trying not to throw any names under the bus so I know what you mean. Well, and it's like, it does feel like anything to like, take power away from women, you know what I mean?
Mm-hmm. And it's just like, that is such a power, like that's so powerful. Any man is gonna , profit off of being breastfed. You know what I mean? Yeah. And it's like you guys. Need this, like, like, and I feel like it is a lot of men, it is women too, that will be like, oh my gosh. Like we, we can't see that.
Like, that's so inappropriate, but it's like, ta, it definitely feels like it's taking that power away from us and it's like, hello, we're doing this for everybody. You try it. Love to see you do it. And if we, if they did, we'd have the best, like of everything, like we'd have amazing rooms to breastfeed in and these amazing breast pumps that are state of the art.
I completely agree. It's just a double standard every way. You turn it, every way you. Twist it, and it's, it's really upsetting. So what's kind of your next move now? How many, um, do you, I don't know if you are able to track it, like how many reels have been made using your song?
Are, are you able to track that at all? Oh gosh. You can track it. I think it's like. Getting close to 200. It's like, it's still a very small number, but I mean, like, it's not all, I feel like I've seen so many for me, I'm like, I know. Well, I think too, it's like people are using, like, there's a few different like versions of the sound floating around, so that, that's also that.
But um, it's been amazing. I mean, especially this week, just seeing all of these women like. Just being brave and posting the videos and seeing some of the backlash that they've gotten, um, for posting videos of them. Breastfeeding or pictures. Yeah, and it's just, I mean, like, I'm just like, holy crap, this is the most amazing thing.
And just to know that it's connecting this way and empowering people like. It's empowering me when I get pregnant again. I'm like, let's go. Yeah. This is gonna be a whole different experience for me. I'm like, everybody watch out. It is. It's, it's like, it's so empowering. It's world breastfeeding week and it's like seeing these moms like put their stories out there.
Moms who, 'cause I've seen people post where I'm like, they never would have posted. They never would've posted that and felt comfortable posting that, but now they've got the song and they're seeing other moms do it. And this is what I talk so much about, especially when I go on other podcasts, but on here too and other episodes is like, women learn to breastfeed by seeing other women breastfeed.
That's how you learn. That's how all mammals learn to breastfeed. I remember there was a, news article about, there was this, um, ape or gorilla at a zoo. She had only lived in captivity, never been around another, , primate that had given birth and had a baby. So she got pregnant and had a baby and had no idea how to feed her baby.
She wasn't able to feed her baby, and they brought moms, like mothers human, mothers in, sat them next to the glass and taught her how to breastfeed. Oh my gosh. And that is like, that's incredible. It, it's, but it, it goes to show like it's natural, but it's a learned skill and you learn it by witnessing it from the time you're born and like through your life.
And it, it's like a subconscious learning, but we have hidden it, we have hidden breastfeeding for 150, 200 years and it's, it's been forgotten. It's been completely forgotten. And so the only way to. Get these breastfeeding rates higher or whatever, like public health people claim that they're trying to do for breastfeeding rates.
The only way to do that is to fix society. Yeah. And I feel like you are single-handedly having a huge impact on that because you're inspiring women to be public about this. Like it, it doesn't have to be this like dirty, sexualized thing. It's just feeding a dang baby. Why? Why is feeding your baby controversial?
I have no idea. Isn't that hilarious? Like, there are so many things that are controversial. I just don't think that this should be one of them, but it is. But it is. And that's like we're gonna change it. I feel like a lot of my issue was like, um. It was like, oh, you know, hopefully you're gonna be able to breastfeed. Like hopefully it's gonna work out for you and your milk. Because I didn't really like have a lot of people that I knew that had a successful time breastfeeding. Mm-hmm. And so I was just happy that I was producing milk and I had like an oversupply and I had, I had a lot of issues and like, I kind of felt like.
I didn't even know how to deal with any of them. 'cause I was just like, oh, I, I'm getting milk. Like this is exciting. And so that's like a whole nother issue is, you know, we're not, we're just not communicating about it and we're not teaching each other in that, that like, that hurt me so much. It really did.
It does. And I was just talking to my husband about this last night because I get so frustrated. Because I look back on my experience and then I, I look at the moms I work with and kinda like what you're saying right now is like so many moms are pregnant and want to breastfeed, and they kind of are like, oh, it'll work out and if it doesn't, I just have really bad luck.
There's nothing I can do about it. And they don't realize, like they don't realize until after the fact that there's so much they could have learned sooner. And then it's like, hindsight is 2020. I should have prepared better. And it's, it's always so frustrating for me 'cause I'm like, I don't know how to get that message out there like that.
You are pregnant and you wanna breastfeed. It's not about luck. It, it's about information and support and you need to find that sooner rather than later. I, I feel like that's just something that's not talked about. And then, , you know, I talk to moms who it's like their baby is 15 years old and they're like, oh, you're a lactation consultant.
I, I had such a hard time breastfeeding A, B, C, D, E, FG. And I'm like, you know, I'll ask a couple questions. And then by the end of the conversation they're like, I really wish I knew you 15 years ago 'cause maybe I would've actually been able to breastfeed. And I'm like, well, yeah, we're trying to change that.
But I feel like. It feels like we make so much progress. And then I look around and I'm like, we still have so far to go. We, we really do. And that's, that's like what sucks, right? Because I'm like, so I, so like my first baby was trial and error. Like I feel like I feel bad for him. You know, like because experiment.
Yeah. It's like he was the experiment and now this next baby is going to be like. You know, a totally different experience, and I'm just like, if I would've just had the resources, like both experiences could, could be great. It's so touchy, especially like talk, talking to people that are like new moms because you don't wanna overstep your bounds, but I just also wanna be like, you can do it.
And like, please let me share some resources with you. If you really want this. Like, like it, it's gonna be great and you can do it. You know, like I feel like any way that you can feed your baby is absolutely great and all of that. Yeah. But I just feel like if people just had more information, oh, and that's the thing is so many people can breastfeed.
They just don't have the support. So then they, they make the choice not to, but they feel guilty about it. And I, I try to get across the point that it's like, it's not guilt you're feeling it's. Like, like a mourning, a mourning of not having, I'm, I'm not getting the right word, but it's like not having the support that you needed knowing inside that like you were pushed and pressured into this decision out of fear, not.
Because it was necessarily the right thing, and it doesn't mean it was the wrong thing either, but I think so many moms have such big emotions about it because they know deep down that they probably could have done it with better support and they were failed by everybody around them. And how painful is that to look in the face?
Yeah, yeah, for sure. And I say that as somebody who's working with second time moms who are telling me that like, I'm, you know, I'm not just like saying that out of nowhere. It's like second time moms are telling me like I'm putting effort into it this time and I wish I had known this last time, like nobody told me.
And so I just, I thought I had no other choice but to quit and. They don't know what their options are. Like there's, there's so many things between exclusively breastfeeding and exclusively formula feeding as well. Those are two ends of a very wide spectrum of how to feed your baby.
And at the end of the day, you should be doing it with like confidence, making informed decisions. Yeah. I absolutely agree. Sorry, I'm like on my soapbox.
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No, no, I agree so much. And I'm like, and I'm gonna say it to you like, I wish I would've known you when I was breastfeeding.
It's like, how, how many times has someone said that to you? Honestly, you should start counting. If I had a dollar, if I had a dollar for every time, I would be making a lot more money than I am right now. Yeah. It's so funny. Bringing that back to like. The, the conversation about having a career and balancing motherhood and, and it's like you, you do, you look at other celebrities and artists and, , the, these mothers who are kind of in the spotlight, the example that we're seeing in society and so often, you know, I feel like a lot of it is or was for a long time, very like, oh, these two things have to be separate.
We're not looking at her as a mother. Only a sex symbol, blah, blah, blah. And I feel like that's kind of changing now. I think there are some, , celebrities who are very intentionally trying to embrace motherhood and let that be seen without, you know, being too in your face about it. I don't wanna ever sound like I'm saying somebody's doing it wrong. But I think there are a lot that probably could be. More, , vocal about that balance and I, I think, you know, there. There are some who have done a really great job about that. Um, I really loved Carrie Underwood sharing her stories about miscarriage and pregnancy loss.
Yeah. And I, I feel like that was really powerful and it kind of makes me laugh. It's like that touched everybody and that was something that, you know, that made waves across the nation, but she was already established, so it was okay. Like you are coming in, like trying to make that your message. Suddenly Motherhood's not okay anymore.
And that's right. That's kind of ironic to me as well. , I don't even know where I was going with that, but I just, I think it's, I think there is a shift happening. Yeah. And, and we have like. We see that there's a problem with how society views mothers, and that's not to say that we have to quote do it all, but like also it's okay for our career, what our career looks like to shift and change and develop as we shift and change and develop.
And that doesn't mean we have to stop, it just means it's going to look different. And that's okay too. Like if I, I am really big on like. Embracing mothers in the workplace. Not in a, like separate it all, but like, bring your baby. Bring your baby. Yeah. Like, I, I get it. Like there's certain situations and times, like obviously a surgeon can't have a newborn on their back.
Right. Like, I get it, but there are times where it, it's like we need to embrace that more without calling it not professional or Right. Like, like I just, you know. It was totally okay when Brentley Gilbert ran off stage to go like, see his baby be born and then come back to stage. A mom, which also I'm like, you, you went and then you came back.
I, they say that that's, they say that that was agreed upon. I don't know what their private relationship is, but I, I wouldn't have been okay with that. But I, I get it. Like, go finish your show, honey. I've got this. I, I mean, everybody's got their own, their own structure. I dunno. Maybe like No, that was great.
That was great. Maybe in the moment for something like that. I that is kind of cool. Like, yeah, go tell him what happened. I'm a badass. Tell them all. Maybe I would've said scream it from the rooftops. , I never would've been able to like be in labor without my husband attached to my hip though.
So I don't know, like, oh no, I would not have been able to like, get through it without him. Like seriously. I know, but, and, and again, that comes right back to though, like everybody's story is gonna be different, right? Yeah. And sharing them is what's powerful. And I don't understand why we can only share them when somebody deems it okay.
To share. Right. And I think there is something to be said about like, you know, privacy and like, especially like, you know, celebrities who have been celebrities forever. Like sure they need something to be private in their life. Oh, for sure. That, that makes sense for it to be their family. But I feel like for me, like I, I just want to, I wanna share it all because that is really what helped me with everything I've ever been through.
That I've needed to heal through, like hearing somebody else say like, Hey, I have been there. , Here's some help. Here's just what I experienced. It just changes everything. It's so helpful and just like cracks open doors and it does just helps you heal. It really does. And I, I think it, and maybe this is where a lot of my feelings around this come from is like, so much of society is shaped by pop culture.
Yeah. And so it, the example set by celebrities. Like, they just have a really big platform and it's very impactful. And so that's why like I loved Brentley Gilbert sharing about his wife's birth in a bus. Like I am a home birth mom. Like I've had three of my babies outside of the hospital. And I'm like, that's awesome.
And it's so funny to see how people are totally like, it's amazing. Like there was a lot of support behind that. It was not like, oh, they're crazy. Yeah, I was told I was crazy. Um, but you know, it's like. I, I love bringing when, when they can like, still have their privacy, but shed light on those important things because it, it does it like those are the things that are going to change culture.
Yeah, for sure. And like, I love, um, I'm not like a big Rihanna fan, but I love, and not to say I don't like her, I just, I, I don't listen to her music. Yeah. But I love how she has like, embraced pregnancy and like is like, happy to show it off like this, oh, this is what women are for. Like she's amazing for that.
Yeah. And so like, I, I think some have just found such an amazing way too. Balance that like, yeah, we're gonna keep this private, but when we talk about it, we can make sure that other moms are, you know, supported and not feeling alone. And I think you have the potential for such an impactful platform and I just hope that somebody somewhere sees how important that is and helps get you that, for lack of a word, microphone to.
Like to, to shout that message to the world and, and be that example, like, I don't know, I can just like see like five years from now, like a stadium full of moms, like wearing their babies with headphones rocking outta a concert. That would be amazing, honestly. Like that, that really is just all I want.
. I've never felt more passionate about anything in my life. Just this subject matter. I don't know why I thought it was gonna ruin my career being a mom and it's just made it better. Like, I work harder, I work smarter, I feel more strong and just like more empowered.
And, um, I just wanna show people that and show like, you know, our kids that, that you can. You can feel this way and, and like that was the thing. It was like, how crazy it is that I was like, oh, you know, my career is over because I'm a mom. And then I even talked to some moms that do music and they're like, oh no, it's gonna make you so much better.
And I'm like, well, why doesn't anybody set us up for that thinking? Yeah. Because maybe I would've started my family sooner if I would've thought like, it's okay. Like it's all okay to to do this. I wanna say too, it's okay to have that break. It's okay to take that time to transition and not, not have to go to like, oh, my life has ruined, everything's over.
Like, because I just didn't pick up a guitar for four months, man. Yeah. No, it's okay. Well, no break is good. Sometimes that break is good. It gives you, it gives you time to create more. Yeah, it gives you time. I mean, I think especially for creative people, you need to step back every once in a while or you're just gonna get burned out, you know?
Like Yeah. You can't just like always be creating, or your cre, like your creation, you know, box is gonna get emptied and you need to fill it back up. But I always joke, I'm like. Whenever we have another baby, it's gonna be like a Bigfoot sighting for like at least the first six months. Like, you're not, you're gonna be lucky if you see me, because I'm just, yeah.
Going to stop. Like, I'm just gonna let myself enjoy it because I just, that was the other thing is I compared myself to so many women who did music and were new moms as well, and you know, maybe they had different types of support or maybe their husbands, you know, weren't touring musicians and they were there to help out a little bit more, but.
I compared myself so hard to these women that looked so perfect, they're, they were so seamless into the transition, into motherhood and like, they probably, it probably wasn't that, you know, like it probably wasn't seamless for them, but they weren't showing that. No, you just, um, made me think of,
nashville, the mo, the show when Hayden's character became a mom and it was like she fell apart behind the scenes and she kept trying to put out there that she wasn't. And I feel like that was such beautiful commentary on exactly what you're talking about, that like we need to have that and, but that's, I feel like also kind of the only thing that's ever portrayed is this like fall apart thing, not.
Beautiful side of it. It's like the only thing that we portray without holding back is the ugly side. Right. In an ugly light. We never talk about the healing side, the growing from that part. Right. Well, and maybe it wouldn't be so ugly if we knew more information or talked about more things, like maybe we wouldn't fall apart as much.
Yeah. Maybe we wouldn't be so depleted in our nutrients and you know, like have such a hard time postpartum if we were supported. Um, I completely agree. So in all aspects, so what does support look like in your opinion? What, what do you think support should look like? I mean, I just, well, first it would be great if like insurance helped out with anything postpartum related, honestly.
'cause that, that honestly was a lot that like, held me back from seeking help too. , But just like having the resources and, and having more information about those things that you're saying like about most women being so like nutrient deprived and, , you know, like getting, pelvic floor therapy and like, things like that and having, acc having access.
But now I'm like realizing, no, those things are important. It doesn't matter if insurance doesn't cover or not, you should find a way to make it work because , you need those things. But anyway, just having like pelvic floor therapy and having more knowledge, I mean, I just don't even feel like we're armed with knowledge about our bodies and what's going on.
It's like, here's the baby. Let's all worry about the baby and like nobody worries about the mom. Mm-hmm. Um, and then you can listen to my album and you can feel a little more seen and just more, I mean, just more things like that. I just feel like, every day I feel like I'm learning something new about the postpartum experience.
Especially. Especially this week. 'cause I feel like I've been my like algorithm is showing me so much, yeah. Of this kind of stuff. And I'm just like, I didn't know that. Wow. I wish I would've known that. If you had to pick one thing and that's gonna be hard, if you had to pick one thing that would've changed your life, if you had known it sooner, what would it be?
Like in my personal experience or just mm-hmm. Overall. Yeah. Well, I feel like, I feel like if I would've gone to see a lactation specialist like two months sooner, my whole experience would've been completely different. Yeah. And I feel like. I don't know why, but I feel like a lot of us, a lot of women, like why aren't we, why aren't we reaching out to people like you?
Yeah. You know what I mean? Like, I don't, there's a lot, there's a lot behind that. I think a big one is. We think that we've been dealing with experts. We we're, we are getting information from nurses and doctors and our doulas and whoever else is around us. And we don't think like, or, or we work with a lactation consultant at the hospital or something and they don't help us.
So we kind of are like, well, we must just be broken instead of realizing that like, that system and model of care is not always the most helpful. And it's not you that can't be helped. It's them who can't help you. And so moms, do they wait like. So many moms come to me. There are babies, like eight weeks, 12 weeks, like 16 weeks old.
And I'm like, why did you not come sooner? We could have fixed so much of this. And it just snowballed like, no, it's gonna be harder. And it doesn't mean we can't fix it, but it it is, it's, yeah, there's a lot of people waiting until they're on that edge, right? Until they have to have help. I just, I just wish, like we all knew, like, hey, go, go sooner.
Like it's, it's okay. I don't know why I waited so long, but I had an oversupply and by the time I saw a lactation specialist, I was already like, mostly pumping and I realized like, dang, like she could have, she could have solved this problem before it got to this. Like, yeah, I would've, yeah, and it, it would've been okay.
It's hard with oversupply because you almost feel guilty for saying like, I have gosh, have a problem. I'm struggling. You, you feel guilty for that? 'cause there's so many moms I did who, who don't have enough milk. And so how dare you complain about having too much milk? But people don't understand. There are very, very real issues that come with oversupply that can lead to.
Yeah, down the road. Well, mastitis all the time. Just always, I was always engorged and it was harder for my baby to latch because I had the oversupply because it was just like, so much Yeah, milk coming at him., I was like, well, how, like, how dare I complain about all this milk I'm making, so I'll just pump.
And pump like my body is thinking that I need, and I'll just have all this milk and I can like give some away and, and whatever. And I mean, I, I wouldn't, I wouldn't change anything, but there's a lot of things I would do differently. Mm-hmm. If that makes sense. It was a learn. No, it does. It was a learning experience and you are who you are because of that experience.
But if you had known sooner, you could have had a less, like, why do we all have to learn the hard way? I know. That's my question. Why do we all wanna learn the hard way? Like you don't have to learn the hard way. I learned it the hard way. You don't have to. Yeah. Yeah. I know we should be. Yeah, we should be like, hello.
These are, here's some advice. Yeah. And then I think it, it gets hard too 'cause you do, like, you see the mommy groups where people are sharing advice and that's great, but then it ends up being like really bad advice. 'cause it's advice for them, not somebody else. And it, it's, sometimes it just gets really muddled.
And so I think that's another reason moms get really confused and afraid to go ask for help. Yeah. 'cause they're like, oh, well this person said that and that person said this. And so I just. Like, they just get overwhelmed. It's almost like information overload. Yeah. There's so much information. There's so many.
And that's true because there's so much information and not enough at the same time. Yeah. Like, yeah. That's, that's a conundrum. We just like, we just confuse ourselves even more just then. , I feel like that's definitely my biggest thing that I wish I would've, I just would've gone for sooner.
Thank you for sharing that with us. I hope somebody out there hears that and knows that like if you do have over, over supply Yeah. Go, go to the lactation specialist. I need to just do an episode just on that. But like oversupply can be a red flag for challenges and struggles just as much as can.
So yeah. Please get help. Don't be afraid to get help. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. If people want to listen to their, listen to your album, where can they find it? , You can find it anywhere. It's on Apple Music, Spotify, all of them. It's just Welcome to Motherhood by Emily Rose. I love it.
And you are Emily Rose official on Instagram, is that correct? Yes. Yes. Awesome. I will link all of that in the show notes because you also don't give her, listen, let's get her recognized and seen so that other moms can, oh my gosh. I'm just like, I, I just can't stop thinking like, how can we get this message out there?
I know, I'm like, I so badly just like wanna like have a show, like you said, like probably not in a stadium, but just like a place where like the moms can just come and just, yeah. Feel seen. Like I can just imagine the conversations like of women just like at the show. Like I just feel like it would just be such like a.
Healing experience. I'm like, I, no, it would be, so that is going to happen. I know. I'm like, I know that'll happen someday. It will. And I just cannot, it'll wait. You know what, you're setting the stage right now for next world breastfeeding week for you to have like Yes. The biggest big latch on. Yes. Oh my gosh.
Alright, mama bear. That is a wrap for today. If this episode helps you feel a little more confident or a little more prepared for breastfeeding, can I ask you a quick favor? Go ahead and leave me a review. It helps other moms find this podcast and join us in this amazing community of fierce and confident Mama bears.
And hey, if you know a friend who could use some encouragement or real talk about pregnancy, breastfeeding, and all things motherhood, share this episode with her. You've got this Mama Bear Trust your instincts, stay fierce, and I'll catch you in the next episode.
Jaimie Zaki is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and mom of 5! Jaimie has volunteered as a La Leche League Leader, worked as a nurse, doula, and birth photographer, and is the host of the Breastfeeding With Confidence Podcast and founder of the Confident MamaBear Society. Jaimie provides holistic breastfeeding advice for pregnant & new moms, helping them overcome unexpected latching trouble and milk supply issues. She empowers mothers to make informed decisions from a place of confidence and intuition.
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