How to Make Nourishing "Pregnancy Tea"
Drinking Red Raspberry Leaf tea is one thing a pregnant mama can do that nourishes her uterus, her baby, and her immune system all at the same time! Many of us midwives suggest that at the top of your list would be drinking red raspberry tea infusion throughout pregnancy, and especially during the third trimester and after birth!
Historically, pregnancy tea has been safely used by herbalists and midwives for nourishing all aspects of pregnancy, birth & postpartum for generations. And, contrary to internet dogma, red raspberry is most recommended to help PREVENT miscarriage, not cause it. (See my previous blog on red raspberry for more information and references.) This infusion is tasty, and nourishing for the whole family!
Why Do Breastfeeding Moms Complain That Holidays Reduce Their Milk Supply?
Through the winter holidays, it's fairly common for breastfeeding mamas to call with a whole string of nursing concerns because they feel their milk supply has gone down. Temporary circumstances can lead to a minor and temporary dip in milk supply. Here are some basics that can guide you to sorting out what might be going on in your case.
What To Do If Your Newborn Is Not Gaining Weight
There are many things that you can do in the immediate postpartum to help your newborn maintain their birth weight or start gaining. This is the information I make sure every one of my birth clients have received over my 40+ years in midwifery as a midwife and family natural health coach, and the majority of their babies GAINED weight by their one week check-up!
Safer Birth in a Barn? How Race Horses are Treated Better Than We Are
Our deeper understandings of birth may come to us from the most unexpected sources, and at the most unanticipated times. During a stretch when I was selling insurance, I found myself in a very unusual place: a stud farm for some of the most valuable horses in the world. One of the stalls emanated energy that felt like so much like birth, I peeked in the large horse box. It was a familiar scene, but with a four-legged mama; a swollen mare was pacing restlessly in the afternoon quiet, deeply breathing and blowing. Her unborn foal was already worth about three million dollars (in 1990 dollars!) because of the lineage it shared with two Triple Crown winners. As horseman explained the barn birth I was about to see, it was entirely shocking how MUCH better it was than humans experience in modern hospitals!
Homebirth Midwives Arenβt Too Hard to Find, If You Know Where to Look
Midwives are highly skilled professionals in the realm of normal birth. Although itβs common for current generations to think that all babies are born in a hospital with obstetricians (OBβs), the preferred attendant around the world for normal birth is still the midwife. So how does one go about finding a homebirth midwife, if you're the first in your circle to consider such a thing? Depending on the health care politics of your area, it could be super easy, or a big challenge!
Three Effective Things to Do Today to Protect Our Families From PFAS in Our Tap Water and Our Lives
Hereβs a quick summary of the PFAS issue, and natural options to effectively relieve our bodies of PFASβs toxic accumulation and reduce our continued exposure. Tap water is confirmed to be a major source of contamination, and there is specific mineral supplementation to consider in helping to shift the bio-burden of PFAS out of the body.
Easing the Misery of Thrush and Yeast
Mothers & babies sometimes struggle with yeast or thrush infections after birth. These fungal overgrowths are much more common now than even in the last decade, due in large part to the routine use of antibiotics at birth at least 30% of the time. While yeast is not usually a βseriousβ problem, it can cause a very serious level of discomfort and pain for mothers and babies both. The infantβs digestion may be disrupted over the long term, and if they are being breastfed, mamaβs commitment to breastfeed may also erode.
The βReset Positionβ to Change the Contractions
The βHands and Kneesβ position is instinctively assumed by women in labor all the time. And sometimes itβs suggested that women go farther, into yogaβs βChildβs Pose.β Iβve coined the term βReset Positionβ for the posture in the picture above, itβs NOT your old βKnee-Chestβ position. It opens the pelvis wide, and provides an opportunity for the baby to back OUT of the pelvis and REPOSITION itself. And it works MIRACLES!
What's the Difference between Doulas and Midwives?
Doulas are professional, sensitive, labor-support persons; they are privately hired by families to be with them during the labor and birth of their babies in a supportive way. Overall, well-trained doulas will be capable medical advocates, knowledgeable on the normal process of labor and birth, and full of ideas to ease and facilitate the mother/babyβs birth process. The exact nature of what skills and ideas doulas might bring to the birth depend on many factorsβ¦..
Moving in Labor Moves Things Along
One of the primary keys to having an efficient and effective labor is having the unborn baby well-positioned in mama's pelvis. And if this seems to not be the case, based on how labor is moving along (or not), remember that to move the baby, move the mama! By understanding this general concept, anyone can effectively help their baby along in a way that fits their personality, their birth setting, and their labor circumstances.