The Milk Maid Coeur d’Alene

12/23/2025

‘Tis the season for inductions! Can you guess what the LEAST popular day to give birth is?
🎄 You guessed it: Christmas!
🥂 Followed by New Years Day,
⭐ Then Christmas Eve,
🇺🇸 Then Independence Day

🤔🤔🤔

🗣️ Your doctor might not say, “I don’t want to get called in on Christmas Eve for a long labor…”
But they may say,
“Your water looks a little low…”
“You baby looks a little big”
“We don’t want your placenta to fail”

❗ Inductions have risks too! You deserve to have all the information so you can make an educated decision.

🤫Here’s what your doctor may not be telling you:

1️⃣ 45% of FTM’s are induced (Up from 25% 10 yrs ago. In that same time, there was no change in infant mortality rate. Dahlen, et al. 2021)
2️⃣ Inductions increase your risk of cesarean by 30%, 50% for FTM’s. (Dahlen, et al 2”21)
3️⃣ Inductions are more likely to have a baby born distressed or with vacuum assistance (Dahlen 2021, et al)
4️⃣ They can take 3+days, or not work at all!
5️⃣ Pitocin induced contractions do not block labor pain the way oxytocin does.
6️⃣ Pitocin increases the risk of uterine rupture, fetal distress, NICU stays, tearing, and more.
7️⃣ Pitocin is not approved by the FDA for routine labor induction. It is used off-label.

‼️Where there is risk, there must be choice.

Your doctor is NOT giving you true informed consent IF: 👨🏻‍⚕️
📌They only informed you of what could happen if you DON’T get induced, but not the risks of induction itself.
📌They pressured or coerced you into an induction.

✅Not all inductions are not “bad.” Many can be needed and life-saving.🙌 Sadly, most inductions today are not medically necessary.

… and remember, “No, thanks!” is a perfectly good, inarguable, response. 👋

👉Take back your power (and learn what is really an emergency!) with the NEW expanded module on “Avoiding Unnecessary Inductions” inside the Pain Free Birth E-course.

🎄 HURRY! Sale ends soon: SAVE $50 off the best selling course and get Birth Partner Bootcamp for FREE! 🎄

Comment 12DAYS and I’ll send you the link.
👉👉👉 Did your provider recommend induction?

12/23/2025

👏

This, I so believe. Hospitals and their medicalization of birth cause a lot of their own problems with our mothers. WTS, YES, hospitals and OBs and nurses have life-saving medical skills and we need them. I just wish, they would stop with the cascade of interventions and then acting like they our saving all these lives when they caused the problem in the first place.

Harrigan for the graphic

12/18/2025

The American Academy of Pediatrics now warns that sleep training before 12 months can disrupt attachment and nervous system regulation. The concern is not parenting style but biology. Babies’ brains are still wiring safety signals through proximity.

In the first year, infants cannot self-regulate. Their nervous system relies on co-regulation with caregivers. When stress rises, closeness to a parent helps settle the amygdala, lower cortisol, and signal safety. Room-sharing is a natural way to provide this support.

Sleep training too early teaches babies to manage stress alone before their brains are ready. Calm is not learned by isolation under stress. Instead, infants need repeated, responsive soothing so regulation becomes internalized over time.

Parents who previously sleep trained are not failing their children. They acted on the information available in a culture that often prioritizes independence over developmental readiness. Understanding the science changes how we view early sleep strategies.

This research emphasizes that proximity wires safety. Babies learn calm through closeness, not isolation. Early care that meets stress with support builds secure attachment, emotional regulation, and lifelong resilience.

12/09/2025

Another refresher class is open for registration! If you’ve had a baby before and have been looking for an opportunity to prepare for your next birth, this is it! Check out the link in the comments for more information.

12/08/2025

👏

If you desire a 35-50% chance of a surgical birth....hire an OB.

12/02/2025

Loving on all you infertility & loss mamas🫶🏻

12/02/2025

Wow....this is so true. Every mom who is in labor should be treated with respect, much kindness and care. NOT asked questions constantly, bright lights, every 2 hour vaginal exams, tied to the bed with EFM and IV's.

12/01/2025

No woman should be sent home while in active labor.

After Mercedes Wells was turned away from Franciscan Health in Crown Point, she gave birth in her truck on the side of the road. Her husband, Leon, had to deliver his fourth child with no medical training or equipment.

I plan to introduce the WELLS Act for Mercedes to ensure that hospitals create and follow real safety rules. I am fighting to ensure that moms get the care they deserve.