Anything They Can Do, We Can Do Breastfeeding

There’s a persistent myth in some cultures: that women - and mothers in particular - are somehow less capable than men. Throw breastfeeding into the mix and suddenly nothing else is possible. Because we’re too fragile, too emotional, or too distracted by children to hold leadership, creativity, or ambition.

But here’s the truth: the transition into motherhood is the single most physically painful, biologically demanding, and soul-stretching transformation a human can go through. Mothers bring life into the world - and in doing so, we move through an initiation that is every bit as demanding as the boardroom, the battlefield, or the classroom.

Motherhood doesn’t make you less than. It remakes you - body, mind, and spirit.

And from that place of transformation, you deserve choice.

It’s Not About Doing It All

This is not about the old “girl power” trope of women proving we can do everything men can do - and then some. This isn’t about martyrdom or about mothers carrying impossible loads.

This is about choice.

If you want to return to work because you love your job, you deserve support to do that. If you want to be a stay-at-home mother because this season of your children’s lives is where your passion lies, you deserve to be honoured in that. If you want to build a business from your kitchen table that lets you work flexibly and creatively around your family, that too deserves respect.

Whatever path you choose - you shouldn’t have to do it alone and you shouldn’t have to apologise for it, either.

Yes, You Can Work and Breastfeed

Many mothers are told it’s impossible to keep breastfeeding if they return to work full-time. I certainly was. And that blanket unsolicited advice was so damming because it robbed me of the opportunity to grapple with what continuing might look like? How could I plan to do something that everyone around me shut down as a topic of conversation?

Yes, you may need regular breaks to pump (depending on where you are in your nursing journey).

You may need flexibility from your employer to rest if you’ve been up half the night.

You may need support from your partner or wider family so you’re not running on empty.

Breastfeeding and working are not mutually exclusive. They can coexist - if we stop expecting mothers to, "Jjust cope” and start building the systems that honour our needs.

Download my free guide: Back to Work and Breastfeeding for practical, compassionate support.

And If You’ve Changed - You’re Not Alone

Some mothers find they don’t want to return to the career they had before children. That doesn’t make you weak or ungrateful. It makes you human.

I know, because I lived it.

I spent 13 years as a teacher. I loved it. I lived and breathed teaching and learning (in many ways, I still do) and I thought it would be my forever career. But after my son was born, everything shifted. The passion I once had didn’t fit anymore. And when I started The Breastfeeding Mentor, people told me it was impossible - no way could I start a business while working full-time and breastfeeding on demand.

Five years later, I have almost 300,000 mothers in my community, a thriving business I run in 25 hours a week and my debut book, The Breastfeeding Survival Guide, published by Penguin Random House.

Not because I did it all. But because I rebuilt my life around what matters most to me.

Biology Is On Our Side

Here’s what rarely gets acknowledged: motherhood doesn’t make us weaker - it biologically equips us for leadership.

• Prolactin helps us stay steady and attentive under stress.

• Oxytocin strengthens connection, empathy, and emotional intelligence.

• Even neural changes in the maternal brain (sometimes called “matrescence”) prime us for focus, adaptability, and resilience.

These are the exact qualities that make extraordinary leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs.

You Don’t Have To Do It All - But You Deserve To Choose

Motherhood isn’t a limitation. It’s an expansion.

Anything they can do, you can do breastfeeding.

Not because you have to, not because you should - but because you deserve the choice.

If you want to thrive in your career - my book will help you protect your breastfeeding journey while doing so.

If you want to build something new and heart-led - join my Heartled Business Mentorship and let’s dream it into being.

If you simply want to find yourself again amidst the demands of mothering - start with this blog post on reconnecting with yourself as a breastfeeding mother.

I don't ever gloss over the hard bits. I shine a light on them. Because I know that us mothers don’t thrive in the dark.

And neither should you.

With love,

Danielle

❤️