Join Heather and Maureen this week as they recap both personal and professional achievements of 2021. Your fearless hosts spend some time catching up on holiday travels and drama, and look back on another year of pandemic living. They get vulnerable about parenthood and personal hopes and fears. In this two part episode Heather and Maureen go beyond the personal and review the current state of lactation in the United States and their home of West Virginia. They also review some of the most interesting new studies of 2021. Join them to take a look at newly found benefits to lactation, covid-19 and breastmilk research, and more in part 2!THANK YOU TO THIS EPISODE’S SPONSORSSay goodbye to your breastfeeding stank and click here to get your Lume! Shop Maureen's Etsy Shop, The Wandering Womb by clicking HERE!Get your breastfeeding journey BACK ON TRACK with a Lactation Consult with Heather! Telehealth available and some insurance accepted. Click the link below for the deets.Click here to Work with HeatherListener Question: What do I do when pumping has become a huge source of stress (because I've been having trouble with let down) and seems to make my boobs not want to let down?Find the new Milk Minute Podcast website by clicking here!Become a Milk Minute VIP: Click here to get behind-the-scenes-access and exclusive merch!Contact us: To send us feedback, personal stories, or just to chat you can send us an email at milkminutepodcast@gmail.comGet Community Support: Click Here to Join our Free Facebook Community!Stay up to Date: Find us on INSTAGRAM @milk_minute_podcastPrefer to read the transcript?- Click Here to read the edited version of this episode!Previous episodes of The Milk Minute Podcast mentioned in this episode:Milk Minute Ep 68- A Milk Expression Meditation with Neuroscientist, Dr. Julie Brefczynski-LewisResources:Look up your own state’s breastfeeding report card here: http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/p/cm/ld/fid=257Donate to the US Breastfeeding Committee: https://usbreastfeeding.salsalabs.org/2021GivingTuesdayFundraisingForm/index.htmlPUMP Act: http://www.usbreastfeeding.org/p/cm/ld/fid=903Send a letter to your State Senator here: https://usbreastfeeding.salsalabs.org/2021pumpactletterhouseamended/index.htmlTake Action for the PUMP Act: https://usbreastfeeding.salsalabs.org/2021pumpactaction/index.htmlSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/milkminutepodcast)