October 11: The Feast of Our Lady of La Leche

Today is the feast day of Our Lady of La Leche.  She is the patron saint of a happy birth and a plentiful milk supply.  Because breastfeeding is often such a large part of a mom’s life, it is very fitting that there is a saint devoted just to that.  Here is a novena that you can pray to ask for her intercession.  Customarily, it begins on October 3 and then concludes on October 11.  However, you can pray the novena at anytime.  The Catholic Nursing Mothers League (CNML) gives out Our Lady of La Leche medals and prayer cards as gifts; just email us if you would like one.  Also, an admin of the Catholic Nursing Mothers League Facebook group, who also leads a CNML group in her local parish and is a professional photographer, is selling some of her photos she took at the Our Lady of La Leche Shrine in St. Augustine, FL; ask on the Facebook group if you are interested.

We do not know a lot about Mary’s experience nursing the Christ Child.  I would imagine her female relatives and friends answered her questions and supported her.  I hope that CNML can help answer your questions and support you. If you are struggling with breastfeeding or if you feel alone in your breastfeeding journey, I encourage you to reach out to CNML via email or Facebook.  If you are looking for information on a specific breastfeeding topic, consider checking our website as it contains many evidence based articles written by a lactation consultant and also links to accurate breastfeeding information.