My name is Marilia Dinamarco, I’m a certified Lactation Counsellor with a special interest in supporting women as opposed to just babies. I've been practicing for several years both in my private practice, and as a volunteer at Barnet Hospital and Mother to Mother Charity. I work closely with Dr. Sharon Silberstein, a leading tongue tie practitioner as well as paediatricians, sleep consultants, osteopaths, birth trauma specialists and speech and language therapists.

My third baby (I have four!) was unexpectedly born with Down Syndrome and a transient form of Leukaemia. Those initial days were a blur and I felt like I couldn’t find my legs. Suddenly, I had a desperate need to breastfeed my baby, not just because of the benefits of breastmilk, but because I needed something in this foreign postnatal land to seem familiar. I just needed something amongst all the beeping machines, tubes and wires to resemble the postnatal time I had with my previous babies. For me, at that time, it was about connection between a me and my baby.

I quickly discovered that help was scarce and inconsistent. I was inundated with conflicting advice and no one seemed to be able to help my baby latch. One phenomenal lactation support worker finally “stopped my carousel from spinning.” She grounded me, gave me a plan and helped me focus on a goal. I realised I never wanted any woman to feel as helpless as I had felt.

I am driven to support all women to reach their own feeding goals, whatever they may be. We have a biological right to understand how our bodies work and to choose how to use our bodies— whether it’s to breastfeed, stop breastfeeding, or formula feed. We deserve correct information, informed consent and empowerment in the ways we parent. Feeding our babies is so much more than nutrition, it’s mothering. It really does take a village, and I’m here to be your villager.