CARE midwifery

04/02/2026

Tips for the many parents out there who at some point may need to feed by bottle or who have chosen bottle feeding. Here’s what we mean when we talk about paces bottle feeding!

Paced bottle feeding is all about giving your baby more control during a feed. By slowing things down and creating natural pauses, you’re helping them stay comfortable, avoid taking in too much too quickly, and tune in to their own hunger cues.

How to pace a bottle feed:
• Sit your baby upright, roughly a 45-degree angle, with their head and neck supported. This helps them manage the flow more easily.
• Invite the latch by brushing the teat against their lip and waiting for that wide, ready mouth before offering the bottle.
• Keep the bottle horizontal, so the teat is only half-filled with milk. This stops the milk from pouring in and gives your baby a chance to set the pace.
• After three to five sucks, gently lower the bottle to pause the flow. These small breaks let them breathe, swallow, and reset before carrying on.
• Keep an eye on their fullness cues. Turning away, pushing the bottle out, or drifting off are all signs they’ve had enough.

Why it matters:
Pacing helps prevent overfeeding, reduces wind and posseting (where baby overflows milk), and makes feeds feel much calmer. It’s also brilliant for babies who switch between breast and bottle, as it mirrors the natural stop-start rhythm of breastfeeding. Most importantly, it supports responsive feeding, letting your baby lead the way and learn when they’re hungry and when they’re full.

[Image description: Step-by-step infographic from Derbyshire Family Health Service on paced bottle feeding, with gentle holding tips and illustrations.]

04/02/2026

While most mothers in Australia start breastfeeding, by the time babies are five months old, exclusive breastfeeding drops to 15 per cent. Knowing what to expect — before bub is born — can increase the chances of meeting your breastfeeding goals.

31/01/2026

An amazing and free opportunity to explore the amazing Transform Birth online course

Learn how to re-train your nervous system – so you don’t just think differently – you labour differently.

Access the first four lessons from Transform Your Birth FREE in this mini course.

https://transformparenting.com.au/freebies/

30/01/2026

Membrane sweeping is a form of induction of labour.

A membrane sweep is also called a stretch and sweep, or sometimes just "a sweep."

It's an intervention that you may be offered towards the end of pregnancy.

As with all interventions, it's up to you whether you have it or not.

How does it work? A midwife or doctor will, while doing a vaginal examination, sweep a finger around and/or within the opening of your cervix (the lowest part of your womb).

As with all interventions, there are pros and cons. Membrane sweeping can cause pain, discomfort, bleeding and infection.

We don't really know if it works. Some studies show it may work. Others don't. The evidence is of low quality.

It is always a good idea to get informed
before you decide what's right for you.

If you'd like to know more, there's a blog post on membrane sweeping on www.sarawickham.com

It's called "What is a stretch and sweep?" and you can find it at https://www.sarawickham.com/articles-2/what-is-a-stretch-and-sweep/

In it, I explain more about membrane sweeping, the pros and cons and some of the things you might want to know before you decide whether or not it's right for you.

I hope it helps.

30/01/2026

Something to consider if you are planning to consent to induction of labour.

"Subjects induced during the early morning had up to 6 hours shorter labor compared to those induced in the late evening (p

28/01/2026

Fascinating research showing saffron can be effective is reducing postpartum depression.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial published in Phytomedicine studied 60 breastfeeding mothers with mild-to-moderate postpartum depression. The mothers were given either 15 mg of saffron twice daily (30 mg per day) or a placebo for 8 weeks, and depression severity was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II).

By the end of the study, mothers taking saffron showed much greater improvement than the placebo group. Their depression scores dropped sharply, and 96% of the saffron group reached clinical remission, compared to 43% in the placebo group. Two-thirds of the saffron group showed a full treatment response, showing that saffron significantly reduced postpartum depression symptoms without standard antidepressants.

PMID: 29157808

21/01/2026

Neurodiversity, and ADHD in particular, plays a significant role in many mothers’ experiences of overwhelm, exhaustion, anxiety, and emotional distress. Yet it's rarely spoken about openly in motherhood spaces, despite the profound impact of the combination of ADHD and the realities of motherhood.

19/01/2026

17/08/2025

If all we did was support a mother’s iron, that would be a big win.
Iron is foundational to all women — and of paramount importance in preconception, pregnancy, and post-partum in my clinic, it’s a non-negotiable.
It’s not just about energy (though that matters).
It’s about oxygen delivery, mental clarity, sleep, detox, hormone production, neurotransmitters, insulin sensitivity — and a mother’s ability to function.

But too often, I hear mothers repeat the same lines they were told in a doctor’s office:
“You’re only slightly anaemic.”
“It’s low, but it could be worse.”

This minimising needs to stop.
Iron deficiency is the disease.
Anaemia is just the end stage.
As Mr Toby Richards (Australian Vascular Surgeon and world leading authority on iron) puts it:

“Once someone is becoming anaemic, they’re already experiencing bone marrow failure.”

Ferritin under 25? That’s not “low normal” — it’s a red flag.
And low iron before birth increases the risk of postpartum blood loss, no matter the delivery type.

Most over-the-counter iron supplements are poorly absorbed (around 5%).
We may need to rethink what we call “adequate” — and how long we’re willing to wait.

Iron is the first square in the game of hopscotch that is maternal recovery. Everything else builds from there.

I go into the topic of Iron more in my newsletter.
>If you’re already on the list, we’d love to hear what you’d like more of.
Not subscribed yet? Head to our website via the link in bio.

05/05/2025

Happy International Day of the Midwife!
How honoured are we to be so privileged to walk along side women in the most amazing of journeys! Thank you to all those women who have welcomed us to walk along side them as they navigate pregnancy, birth and growing a new family.
In January we attended our final homebirth. After many many years of being on call, we made the decision that it’s time to take it easy on weekends and take time out to do more time with family and fill our cups a little with other life stuff. So thank you to the many women who welcomed us to share the sacred moment of birth with their families. It was truly a privilege.
Ann and Ali have now retired to SA and as of early this week, Chrissie Foy is now a partner with Mel in Care Midwifery.
Although we continue to work in Motherhub, now we are no longer busy with homebirth commitments, we have a lot more availability and look forward to also being able to provide more at home care for women, antenatally and postnatally and for lactation support.

The best way to reach out for homevisits is to call or text us directly.
Mel 0400708262
Chrissie 0455 241 792

12/05/2023

Wishing all of our sisters in nursing a happy International Nurses Day! Thank you for what you do!

03/05/2023

Our very own Ali Teate was recognized as a darn good midwife last night at the Australian College of Midwives International Day of the Midwife celebrations. We are very proud of her! Congratulations Ali 🎉