A Letter From Lindsay Frost

Hollywood Actress Lindsay Frost writes Breastfeeding.com about her breastfeeding experiences

And you daytime television fans might remember me as Betsy Andropolus on CBS's "As the World Turns".  Although I plan to continue my career in the future, I have been taking some much needed time away from the small screen to devote myself to my family.

I have always been a supporter of breastfeeding, but since the recent birth of my second son Casey, I have really learned more about the many benefits of nursing and have been successfully doing so for seven months. After his birth, I was fortunate to have terrific lactation consultants at the hospital to provide much needed guidance and support, even after returning home.  That was something I didn't have five years ago when my first son Lucas was born.  After the great jump start, a friend then told me about Breastfeeding.com. I logged on, got hooked, and thought, "Hey this is such a useful site, more women need to know about this".   So my involvement began, and now I feel very fortunate to be a small part of it.  For if we do our part to increase the number of women who breastfeed and encourage them to do so through at least the first year, as the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests, there will be many more babies getting a healthier start in life.

Putting the glamour of Hollywood aside, the reality of my job is most often long hours in strange cities and places far away from my family.  When I started filming Tom Clancy's Op Center, my first son Lucas was a newborn and I tried desperately to nurse throughout the shoot to no avail.  I remember one particularly embarrassing day, the first one, right at the start of our shooting schedule.  We were filming a romantic scene between my co-star Harry Hamlin and myself.  We had never laid eyes on one another prior to that morning and it made me all the more nervous.  Sprinkle in a dozen or so camera and sound people (none of whom I had gotten to know yet) and we had the makings for a real bout of self-consciousness.  It was all I could do that morning, as the hours ticked by, to stay focused and pray that I could make it to lunch and my waiting breast pump.  Motherhood was so new to me and I did not understand the protocol of nursing in the workplace, especially in such a male dominated environment. I mean, where do you find out about things like this?

Halfway through the scene, I looked down and to my horror, saw two rather large wet rings slowly seeping out of my carefully layered ensemble.  We were shooting in a very big high-rise apartment and the dressing rooms were about fifteen minutes away.  I had no choice but to escape into a nearby bathroom with a hairdryer and blow dry my outfit.  You can imagine my embarrassment.  Nothing like making a great first impression.  Needless to say, I soon gave up nursing after only a few weeks.  I know now, that this was not the best thing I could have done for my new baby.  Although my son is now a strong, healthy kid, he did battle persistent ear infections for the first three years and was a chronic cold sufferer.  That is one of the reasons I felt so strongly about giving it a better shot the second time around.

There are certainly many aspects of mothering that are often perplexing and challenging.  Finding others who are going through the same things and sharing those experiences is vital to our well being.  Parenting books are great, and I have a whole shelf full to prove it, but nothing beats one on one exchanges with professionals and peers.  That's what Breastfeeding.com can offer.  New mothers especially, need all the help, advice and humor they can get. I know I did.  And I have to say, I wish there had been a place like this five years ago.  Who knows, maybe I would have had the confidence and courage to stick with it, and to tell that director I needed time with my baby.

So thanks for dropping by. We hope that you enjoy the site and share it with your friends, especially the nursing moms.  Keep up the good work and have a wonderful holiday season!