“Don’t be afraid to tell your providers what you need,” says pediatrician Michelle Shepard, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, in a WebMD article on breastfeeding. “Any intervention to support you during pregnancy and breastfeeding may help you achieve your breastfeeding goals.”

Breastfeeding is hard, and most new moms need more help than they’re getting. Ongoing and readily available support is crucial. An influential federal advisory group is renewing its call for more breastfeeding support for new mothers. More than 90 percent of moms-to-be say they intend to breast feed, yet less than 60 percent are doing so when their babies reach 6 months old. Even fewer—just 27percent—exclusively breastfeed at that point.

The benefits of breastfeeding for both Mom and Baby are well documented, but the medical and public health sectors have yet to provide a clear set of tools to reliably help mothers.

All that said, breastfeeding is not for everyone.

“The most important thing I tell families is that healthy parents make healthy babies,” Shepard says. If you’re having trouble or stress related to breastfeeding, let your health care provider know. “We are here to help, not judge.”

Read full story at WebMD