Innate Birthing Services

02/07/2023

Register for the next Lamaze small group class series today!
register at yourinnatebirth.com

11/15/2022

09/02/2022

Important to know this as our understanding of infant feeding increases

I know some of y’all just LOVE your swaddles, this is not an attack. 🚨

Babies need their arms to feed well. I know their scratchy nails and little hands can be annoying and get in the way. But they use their hands and arms for balance and stability at the breast and to find the ni**le.

Wrapping up babies in blanket burritos dampens their feeding cues and can cause missed feedings.

This is ESPECIALLY worrisome in the early days and weeks when frequent milk removal is required to create your milk supply.

Your breasts are literally calibrating the milk volumes and when you miss feeding cues, it means LESS milk is going to be made.

Frequent/long swaddle sessions can cause babies to be underfed.

Babies should be gaining 1oz/day.

Babies who can’t use their startle reflexes as designed aren’t able to reduce their risk of SIDS.

They are literally designed to startle as a way to keep them alive.

Reconsider the swaddle.

Other ideas for ways ways to ensure your baby is safe and sleeping well can be found at Biologically Normal Infant & Toddler Sleep. 🖤🖤🖤

Let them use those arms! 😍

08/19/2022

Due dates can be really helpful in some ways, and a real pain in others.

And it’s important to realise what they can and can’t do.

Can they give us a rough idea of when a baby might be due?

Yes.

Is that helpful for planning, ordering the birth pool, arranging for childcare and to guide some of the care we might want during pregnancy?

Of course.

On the other hand, though…

A due date is not a 'best before' date.

It's not an expiration date.

It's a guess.

And research shows that only about 5% of babies (that’s one in twenty babies) are born on their due date.

So as I often say to expectant parents, plan to do something nice on your due date.

You’ve got a really good chance of being able to do it.

And it might help you remember that due dates are a guide, not a guarantee.

My website contains lots of information about normality, due dates and induction of labour.

I have also written two books about this: Inducing Labour: making informed decisions and In Your Own Time: how western medicine controls the start of labour and why this needs to stop.

Find out more at www.sarawickham.com/iol

08/13/2022

I’m often asked the question: “Do nursing parents need to pump in order to make enough milk?” The short answer is no. Effective breast pumps have been available for only about the past 70 years. Clearly humans have successfully nursed their babies for far longer. Also, how many of the thousand...

07/23/2022

Don't ever compare your milk stash to anyone else's. That way lies madness.

I have a great blog over how to start pumping and build a milk stash while breastfeeding. You should check it out on my website under blog!

Link below! 🔗

https://www.rachelobrienibclc.com/blog/how-to-start-pumping-and-build-a-milk-stash/

07/14/2022

Please sign up for my series for comprehensive education!

07/13/2022

This is the advice I give my clients also

Don’t fall into the trap of getting excited about the start of early labor…tiring yourself out trying to “get things going”…and then finding yourself completely exhausted and depleted by the time active labor rolls around.

🤰🤰🤰This is especially important for first labors and women who cope with prodromal labor.

Rest, relax, sleep, binge watch shows on Netflix. Whatever you do in early labor try to store up your energy for when you really need it.

SAVE this post as a reminder to rest early and often in labor.

Share the post with a friend who you think needs this friendly reminder.

Follow for more.

07/03/2022

Check out my new childbirth class offerings!