Season 1, Episode 2
September 29, 2026
About This Episode
Breastfeeding is often presented as something our bodies are simply supposed to know how to do. But for so many new mothers, the reality is far more complicated.
In this episode of Since I Became a Mother, I sit down with Dr. Linda Dahl, a board-certified ENT and head-and-neck surgeon, breastfeeding medicine expert, and author of Better Breastfeeding, to talk about how breastfeeding actually works — and why so many mothers are left trying to figure it out while exhausted, hormonal, and newly postpartum.
We talk about milk supply, latch, tongue ties, feeding challenges, and the relationship between the mother and baby as a breastfeeding dyad rather than treating feeding as something happening only to the baby.
Dr. Dahl also explains why breastfeeding problems often require looking at the entire picture: the baby’s anatomy, the mother’s body, milk production, pain, positioning, feeding behavior, and the support system around them.
This conversation is for the mother who wants to breastfeed, is currently breastfeeding, struggled with breastfeeding, or simply wishes someone had explained how much more complicated feeding can be before the baby arrived.
In This Episode
How breastfeeding actually works
What determines milk supply
Why supply problems are not always as simple as “make more milk”
What a good latch should look and feel like
Why pain during breastfeeding deserves attention
Tongue ties and when they may actually interfere with feeding
Why not every feeding problem is caused by a tongue tie
How a baby’s anatomy can affect breastfeeding
The importance of looking at the mother and baby together as a dyad
How pumping differs from directly nursing
The role of hormones in milk production
Why breastfeeding problems can have multiple causes at once
How mothers can advocate for themselves when feeding does not feel right
Why early breastfeeding support matters
What Dr. Dahl wishes more mothers knew before giving birth
This Week’s Guest
Dr. Linda Dahl
Dr. Linda Dahl is a board-certified otolaryngologist and head-and-neck surgeon with expertise in breastfeeding medicine. Her work focuses on helping mothers and babies navigate breastfeeding difficulties, including milk supply, latch, oral anatomy, tongue ties, and the many factors that can affect feeding. She is the author of Better Breastfeeding: A Mother’s Guide to Feeding and Nutrition and Clinician’s Guide to Breastfeeding: Evidence-Based Evaluation and Management.
Resources Mentioned
Better Breastfeeding — Dr. Linda Dahl: A practical guide to understanding breastfeeding, milk production, feeding challenges, and the relationship between maternal and infant health.
Clinician’s Guide to Breastfeeding — Dr. Linda Dahl: A clinical resource focused on evaluating and managing breastfeeding concerns using an evidence-based approach.
The Mother-Baby Dyad: A framework for understanding breastfeeding by considering the health, anatomy, function, and needs of both mother and baby together rather than treating them separately.
About Since I Became a Mother
Since I Became a Mother is a podcast about who we were before motherhood, who we are now, and who we’re still becoming.
Through honest conversations and personal stories, we explore the ways motherhood reshapes our identity, relationships, ambition, mental health, bodies, friendships, and the way we understand ourselves.
New episodes every Tuesday.
Before I was a mother, I barely noticed mothers. And now they’re all I see.
I see you.
Listen to Episode 2
How Breastfeeding Actually Works: Milk Supply, Tongue Ties & the Mother-Baby Dyad with Dr. Linda Dahl
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/since-i-became-a-mother/id1724264667
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4i5QiWoXeiZ1N6dRvGzLZZ?si=eb40a87dec5a448b
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TaylorRaeRoman
About Taylor Rae Roman
Taylor Rae Roman is the host of Since I Became a Mother, a writer, content creator, and mother exploring the identity shifts, relationships, mental health, ambition, and everyday realities that come with becoming a mother.
Instagram: @taylorraeroman
Podcast Instagram: @sinceibecameamother
TikTok: @taylorraeroman
YouTube: Taylor Rae Roman
