Archive for Infant Care
Spokane Breastfeeding Support Groups
JANUARY 8, 2011
Now is a wonderful time to be a breastfeeding mother. I have discovered that in Spokane there are breastfeeding support groups meeting five days a week: Monday through Friday! No longer do women need to feel alone. You don’t have to feed your baby an emergency formula bottle because you are worried that she’s not getting enough milk. You can get the breastfeeding support you need from one of our local support groups.
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Benefits of Co-Sleeping
NOVEMBER 10, 2010
My husband and I are what you might call accidental co-sleepers. We purchased a crib when I was pregnant and had always assumed our baby would sleep in it. Our first born wasn’t what you would call a “good sleeper” however, and we soon began keeping him in our bed with us at night, more as a survival technique than a forethought decision. By the time our second son came along, a year and a half later, we had purchased a larger bed and fallen in love with co-sleeping. We are in good company—95% of parents worldwide share sleep with their babies, either by bed-sharing as my family does (using the same sleep surface) or other means of co-sleeping (keeping the baby within arms reach, but on a separate surface, like a bedside co-sleeper) and there are numerous benefits. [...]
Breastfeeding for Working Moms
As a mom who went back to work only 2 months after my first son was born, I understand the difficult balance of trying to make a living and wanting to give your baby the gift of breast milk—liquid gold, as it is often called. There have already been many articles written about the benefits of breastfeeding and it is widely acknowledged, even by the infant formula industry, that you can’t synthesize the ingredients in breast milk that make it so invaluable to our babies health and development. Moms (and dads) often find themselves in the difficult position of having to decide the best way to care for their children AND make ends meet. [...]
New Report Confirms “Breast is Best”
I was pleasantly surprised this week to see ABC News reporting that a new study confirms that babies who are solely breastfed for the first 6 months of life can ward off ailments, including diabetes, sudden infant death syndrome, childhood leukemia and stomach viruses. Breast milk is rich in antibodies that boost immunity and can help regulate insulin levels to prevent childhood diabetes. The study in this week’s Pediatrics Journal reads, “The United States incurs $13 billion in excess costs annually and suffers 911 preventable deaths per year because our breastfeeding rates fall far below medical recommendations.” [...]
New Controversy Over Babywearing (Slings)
Last week the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning “advising parents and caregivers to be cautious when using infant slings for babies younger than four months of age. In researching incident reports from the past 20 years, CPSC identified and is investigating at least 14 deaths associated with sling-style infant carriers, including three in 2009.” The CPSC announcement concerns “bag” slings, a very particular style of baby carrier. It does not mean that all infant slings are dangerous. [...]
Pediatric House Calls
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Brenda Stoudt, a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) who makes house calls in the greater Spokane area. Having given birth to her own children at home, she understands the needs of home-birth families who wish to remain at home after the birth of their babies rather than running to a doctors office for newborn checkups. As well, she is a lactation counselor who works with moms and babies to ensure successful breastfeeding is established.
Beyond the newborn phase, Brenda provides preventative care and makes sick calls for children of all ages within the comfort of your home. What’s best…these house calls are not any more expensive than the average visit to a doctors office and can be covered by your health insurance. [...]
The Controversy Over Home Birth
I have recently twitted about two news articles concerning the safety of home birth. For those of you who don’t follow me on twitter, I’ll catch you up on the news. Here’s the scoop: The Huffington Post article, “ACOG Up to Dirty Tricks,” reported on the organizations efforts to collect stories solely about unsuccessful out-of-hospital births from its members to use as “data” in it’s lobbying efforts against independent midwives. And on the brighter side, USA Today published the article “Study: Home Birth With Midwife as Safe as Hospital Birth” which finds that planned home births may in fact have a lower mortality rate and fewer complications that physician-attended hospital births. [...]
New Christian Childbirth Classes
I am excited to tell you about a new breed of natural childbirth education classes that will soon be offered in the Spokane area. Local doulas Stephanie Nobles and Terri Young have developed a Christian childbirth curriculum that prepares expectant couples for unmedicated birth through faith-based learning. I met with Stephanie this week (that’s us together in the photo) to learn more about the content of the classes and how the Christian faith is used to teach childbirth preparedness.
For many women and their partners, childbirth is a deeply spiritual event—it is often the most profound moment in their lives and their Christian walk. Stephanie and Terri believe that women who learn to use their faith to embrace pregnancy and birth come out of the experience feeling powerful and beautiful. What better way to enter your new life as a parent! [...]
Every Woman Should See This!
If you are pregnant or even planning to have a baby, I highly recommend watching this documentary. It will strip away any illusions you may have about the experience of giving birth in a hospital or at home.
After having her first child, actress Ricki Lake (of talk show fame) decided to explore and question the way most American women are having babies. “The Business of Being Born” is a controversial documentary that will open your eyes about the shocking state of our current maternity care system in the U.S. It presents intimate birth stories, juxtaposing standard hospital deliveries against the growing movement of women who are choosing to have natural births at home. [...]
What is a Doula?
This wonderful article was written by my cousin’s wife, Hannah Reasoner, who is a doula in Ft. Worth, TX. Check out her blog for more information.
A doula is a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth. She understands the physiology of birth and the needs of a laboring woman.
The role of the birth doula greatly depends on the woman and family for whom she is providing care. The doula’s main purpose is to be a friend, a mentor, and a helper to the mother, as well as a support to her partner and/or family. If the mother chooses a doula in the early stages of pregnancy, the doula can help to provide information and education for several months leading up to the birth. This can also help the mother and family build an established, comfortable, and trusting relationship with the doula. [...]
