Dr. Nancy M. Vaughns

12/14/2023

Hope my baby is ready for a breastmilkshake 😆🥶🥤

08/15/2023

Trans inclusion in schools hits FOX13! Interview about my book, Trans Children in Today's Schools. Episode clip in comments...

07/26/2023

We love this quote from Marcie!

05/10/2023

Don’t buy into the fads and pseudoscience!

Despite what TikTok says

03/14/2023

Most babies, especially breastmilk fed babies under 6 months old, NEED to eat overnight. 😮

I KNOW how hard it is. I was a full-time working mom with all of my kids, and none of them were “good” sleepers👼. I would honestly have done anything to get a little more sleep at night. 😴

BUT… a 2015 study showed that 79% of babies 6-12 months old were still waking at least once overnight and 61% had at least one overnight feed.🤓

If babies were really supposed to be sleeping 12 hours by 12 weeks, they all would be. “Sleeping through the night” at this age should be the exception, not the rule. 🤱

There are tons of products and “programs” out there on the market right now that can actually cause babies to sleep through their hunger cues. Often (but not always) these babies are not making up the calories during the day. Around month 4, their weight gain drops or even slows entirely.😢

And honestly, a lot of babies just can’t sleep long stretches period, no matter what “method” you use.🤷‍♀️ There are babies who sleep long stretches and babies who don’t and neither of these is a bad baby. Everyone is different. Every baby is different.👩‍🍼

So what do you do? Instead of focusing on stretching out the time between feeds and trying to make a baby stop eating overnight, focus on getting yourself back to sleep as soon as possible when baby wakes up. 😴Two or three overnight feedings aren’t terrible if your baby goes right back to sleep (and so do you).

Read more here 👇🏼
https://www.rachelobrienibclc.com/blog/sleep-training-and-breastfeeding/ ❤️

(P.S. this is the reference for the study info above https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25973527/)✅

02/19/2023

If Rihanna can headline the Super Bowl halftime show pregnant, women really can do anything.

I watched the half time show in awe. Not because of the music -- which I already knew I loved. Not because of the dancers who look like they were ready to hit the ski scene in Aspen. And not because of the crotch and butt squeezes (a pre-req for halftime shows these days, it seems). No, none of that is what I will remember in 10 years when I think about Rihanna's performance of her life.

I watched because this gifted, beautiful, artistic mother showed the entire world that women really WILL run this town tonight, tomorrow and forever.

Rihanna announced her pregnancy on the biggest stage in the world without saying a word. Instead, she performed.
If you are upset that the dancing wasn't exciting enough, that her movements were understandably careful, and that there were no guest performers, you are missing the point!

Rihanna did not cancel this performance because she was pregnant. Because women's lives and professions should not go on hold when a baby enters the picture. Women should not be expected to go into hiding when they are pregnant, or breastfeeding or over 25.

Nor did she undermine her role by adding musicians, excessive distractions, or shock value.

She embraced the position she is in. She performed, not in spite of, but as part of her roles as a mother. Her body, her voice and her role as a mother WAS the spotlight, and rightly so.

Rihanna, thank you for performing. Thank you for reminding people everywhere that pregnancy should be regaled. Watching you perform empowered every mother with the reminder that we can do anything, and should be supported as such.

Rihanna, I know the controversy is already exhausting. People love to hate the super bowl halftime show. But please don't stop the music. And today you showed us you won't.

01/15/2023

Amazing photo shows how breast milk repels harmful bacteria like e.coli and MRSA A photo showing droplets of breast milk fending off armies of harmful bacteria in Petri dishes is going viral on Facebook. The photo, posted by a biology student in England, features nine Petri dishes completely coloniz...

01/15/2023

There is a HUGE range for when long stretches of sleep develop in babies. On one end of the range some babies sleep long stretches under 1 year. On the other end 2.5 years is a sweet spot for sleep. Other babies take until 3 years or more to develop.

While sleep is developing there are many things that can optimize sleep for your baby and for you. When we nurture infant and parent biology we work to get everyone more rest.

Sleep is vital to our baby’s brain development, and babies need us to understand their sleep.

There are so many factors that influence sleep for baby and parents. From sleep environment to light exposure to timing of sleep to relationships, stress and movement. There can also be medical issues that influence sleep. If you are struggling with sleep or wanting to make a big change to sleep reach out - support can make a huge difference. My email is nurtureneuro@gmail.com

Or book a session with me https://www.nurture-neuroscience.com/sleep-support

This is a space to celebrate and support normal infant sleep and nurture it as it grows 💕🧠💕

01/12/2023

In ancient Greece, women were forbidden to study medicine for several years until someone broke the law. Born in 300 BCE, Agnodice cut her hair and entered Alexandria medical school dressed as a man. While walking the streets of Athens after completing her medical education, she heard the cries of a woman in labour. However, the woman did not want Agnodice to touch her although she was in severe pain, because she thought Agnodice was a man. Agnodice proved that she was a woman by removing her clothes without anyone seeing and helped the woman deliver her baby.
The story would soon spread among the women and all the women who were sick began to go to Agnodice. The male doctors grew envious and accused Agnodice, whom they thought was male, of seducing female patients. At her trial, Agnodice, stood before the court and proved that she was a woman but this time, she was sentenced to death for studying medicine and practicing medicine as a woman.
Women revolted at the sentence, especially the wives of the judges who had given the death penalty. Some said that if Agnodice was killed, they would go to their deaths with her. Unable to withstand the pressures of their wives and other women, the judges lifted Agnodice's sentence, and from then on, women were allowed to practice medicine, provided they only looked after women.
Thus, Agnodice made her mark in history as the first Greek female doctor, physician and gynecologist. This plaque depicting Agnodice at work was excavated at Ostia, Italy.

01/09/2023

Proud to announce that I’ll now be joining the team at Tru Ob/Gyn and birth center! Looking forward to continuing to offer patient centered full scope Ob/Gyn care as part of a warm multidisciplinary team. Cheers to new beginnings!