Recent Articles
How to Cope With Pregnancy Loss
Pregnancy loss is a heartbreaking and emotional experience that can have devastating physical and psychological impacts. It can be extremely difficult to cope with the pain and grief of losing a much-wanted baby. While there is no one-size-fits-all answer for how to heal from a pregnancy loss, you can take steps to help yourself work through the emotions and learn how to cope in the aftermath.
The Anatomy and Function of the Breast
During pregnancy and after birth, the baby's and mother’s bodies work together seamlessly in a beautiful symphony where both mother and child benefit. Understanding how your breast changes during pregnancy and lactation helps to fully appreciate how breastfeeding works.
My Breastfeeding Journey: My Babies NEVER Slept!
While many would say I had an almost idyllic breastfeeding journey, those early years were some of the toughest of my life. My eldest son, Tor, was born in 2012, and when I was pregnant, I read everything I could get my hands on about the birthing process. I had an easy pregnancy and wonderfully event-free water birth.
Can You Get Botox While Breastfeeding?
Botox injections contain far lower doses of the toxin than those that result in Botulism, so it is unlikely this will pose a threat to your baby’s health and it is unlikely that toxins will pass from your breastmilk to your baby following Botox injections.
Infant Formulas that Ship to the U.S.
The formula shortage crisis has been a few months in the making. It started in February 2022 when suspected contamination of Similac led to the recall of products countrywide and the shutting down of a manufacturing plant in Michigan. This plant supplied as much as a fifth of the infant formula products on the market. It is also a critical supplier of specialized formula products for babies with allergies or other health conditions.
Finding an Alternative Formula
On 17 February 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it was investigating several reported cases of Salmonella Newport infections in infants and toddlers likely linked to the infant formula produced in the Abbott Nutrition’s Michigan Facility. This was only the beginning of what would turn out to be a national crisis. No one could imagine that the USA would face a formula shortage, leaving parents in a state of panic about how to feed their babies.
Colostrum - Every Drop Counts
Colostrum is often described as liquid gold, and for good reason too. While it does have a golden tinge, it is also the most precious and valuable food your newborn will receive. Produced in the smallest amounts, colostrum plays an important role in the start of your breastfeeding journey. Read on to find out more about the benefits of colostrum for your baby and why every drop counts.
What You Should Know About Losing Weight after Pregnancy
Following a long nine months of pregnancy with a roller coaster of hormones and body changes, we are so excited to welcome our baby into the world and embrace our role as a mother. At the same time, there is also a lot of pressure to shed the baby weight within weeks of giving birth. Social media influencers and famous celebs set unrealistic standards that we hold ourselves to, but there is no secret formula for gaining that six-pack or fitting back into your skinny jeans. Read on to learn more about what you can realistically expect when it comes to weight loss after birth.
Alcohol and Breastfeeding
About 1-2% of the alcohol a mother consumes enters her breastmilk. Because infants’ livers are not developed enough to process the alcohol, it will remain in their systems much longer. While mothers can safely consume alcohol while breastfeeding, they should limit their intake to about 1-2 units per week or plan accordingly.
Can You Express Milk into the Same Bottle?
In order to save fridge and freezer space, it makes sense to combine milk from different pumping sessions, but is it a safe option? The answer is generally ‘yes,’ but there are certain guidelines that need to be followed.
The Golden Hour
The first hour after birth when the mother has uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact with her newborn is termed the Golden Hour. Research has recently recognized the vital role that “The Golden Hour” plays in stimulating breast milk production and ultimately, breastfeeding success. Read on to learn more about the Golden Hour.
Cracked and Painful Nipples
Cracked and painful nipples are one of the most common reasons mothers prematurely stop breastfeeding. Many factors have been identified to cause painful or damaged nipples, including poor breastfeeding technique or latch, breast engorgement, inverted/malformed nipples, bottle feeding, nipple hypersensitivity, and inappropriate breast pumps. This article outlines some of the most effective ways to correct and resolve these issues.
Which Formula is Best for My Baby?
Sometimes, as much as we want to parent “by the book” as it were, life has other plans for us. Breastfeeding may be causing so much discomfort and stress, that in many ways, formula feeding is a better alternative. Some of us experience severe pain, cracked nipples, mastitis, or simply have to return to work and cannot find an extra thirty hours in our week to exclusively breastfeed/pump. Read on to find out about the most popular formulas on the market and the pros and cons of each.
Nipple Shields
Although nipple shields have proven helpful for many breastfeeding mothers, there is some contradictory data regarding the long-term effects of its use and the best method for weaning off the nipple shield and introducing the bare nipple. Read on to find out about the pros and cons of nipple shields.
Britney Spears’ Conservatorship - A Denial of Basic Human Freedoms?
After 13 years of behaving under the conservatorship rules, performing on stage when she is told to, and paying the people that have control over her life huge sums of money, all she wants is to end the inappropriate control over her life and finances. At age 39, she is urging the courts to give her the freedom to make her own decisions and live the life she wants to lead. It seems like a reasonable request.
Is It OK to Breastfeed and Formula Feed at the Same Time?
While many of us understand the benefits of breastfeeding, for some moms, exclusive breastfeeding is not always an option. In this day and age, many moms have to return to work within a few months of their baby’s birth, and being able to pump is non-negotiable. However, many moms experience difficulties with pumping and then don’t have enough milk to give to babysitters. Additionally, many moms struggle with issues such as getting their baby to latch, low milk supply, or nipple pain. For these and other reasons, the decision to supplement with formula becomes the only viable option.
When Is the Right Time to Stop Breastfeeding?
The decision to stop breastfeeding is a very personal one. Each mother has a different breastfeeding experience, and her emotions surrounding breastfeeding will be just as unique. Some mothers have a clear idea of how long they want to breastfeed, and when they would like to stop, but for many mothers, it is not that simple or obvious. While there’s no recommended cut-off time for breastfeeding, however long you choose to breastfeed will be beneficial to both you and your baby. There are many things to take into consideration when choosing to wean your baby off the breast, including your own beliefs and feelings, the feelings and needs of your child, and dare I say it, sometimes the unwelcome opinions of others.
Imposter Syndrome
Have you ever felt as if you didn’t belong or that you didn’t deserve your job title and accomplishments? Perhaps you secretly worry that your friends and colleagues may discover that you’re a fraud and that all your success was due to luck or other external factors. If so, you may be struggling with imposter syndrome, a phenomenon that affects up to 70% of people at some point in their careers.
Job-Person Fit – Why it’s Important to Experience Positive Emotions at Work
Research shows that negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, and stress take a toll on our bodies and minds; and that positive emotions are linked to better outcomes at home and at work. As a result, corporate wellness programs are becoming more focused on enhancing positivity in the workplace to improve employee well-being and productivity.
What Does It Mean to Be a Mother?
At first glance this seems like a fairly straightforward and even rhetorical question. Defining motherhood is easy – it’s simply bearing children and then nurturing them to become adults, right? As a mother myself, I think most of us would beg to differ. Many mothers would say that it’s the hardest, most stressful, and unrelenting job in the world, but also the most rewarding.