Michelle van der Westhuizen

06/04/2026

It is believed that we take until our twenties to learn how to self regulate

❤️‍🩹

06/04/2026

Love this🥰

This 2024 study describes what’s normal for night-waking in nursing babies 6 to 12 months old. Not surprisingly, 97% woke and nursed at least once during the night. It’s reassuring to know that night nursing at this stage is age-appropriate, not the sign of faulty parenting or a sleep disorder.

See the full study - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37980699/

06/04/2026

Amazing right?

🤰 5 PREGNANCY FACTS YOU DIDN’T KNOW!

Pregnancy is full of surprises, mama! Here are some facts that might amaze you 😲✨

1️⃣ Your baby can taste what you eat
Flavors from your food pass into the amniotic fluid!

2️⃣ Your uterus grows HUGE
From the size of a pear 🍐 to a watermelon 🍉

3️⃣ Babies can recognize your voice
They start hearing you in the womb 👶💕

4️⃣ You grow a whole new organ
The placenta forms just for your baby!

5️⃣ Your heart works harder
It pumps up to 50% more blood during pregnancy ❤️

💡 Pregnancy is powerful, magical, and full of wonders. Your body is doing something incredible every single day!

06/04/2026

C-SECTION SCAR TYPES 🤱✨

Not all C-section scars look the same—and that’s completely normal, mama! 💖 Here are the common types:

🔹 Low Transverse (Bikini Cut)
A horizontal scar just above the p***c area.
👉 Most common & heals neatly

🔹 Vertical (Classical Incision)
A straight up-and-down scar on the abdomen
👉 Used in emergency cases

🔹 Keloid Scar
Raised, thick, and grows beyond the incision
👉 More common in some skin types

🔹 Hypertrophic Scar
Raised but stays within the incision line
👉 Can fade over time

🔹 Dark or Pigmented Scar
Darker than surrounding skin
👉 Usually lightens as it heals

💡 Reminder: Every scar tells a story of strength. Your body carried life and brought your baby safely into the world. 💕

👩‍⚕️ If you’re concerned about healing, always consult your doctor.

04/04/2026

It is C-section awareness month

April is cesarean awareness month. Giving birth via a c-section is not easy! As doulas, we understand the sacrifice parents make when they must have a surgical birth to safely bring their babies earthside.

Why awareness? Because it is important people understand how transformative birth is, including c-section birth.

All birth has the potential to be positive and empowering, including c-section birth. This is why prenatal support and birth doula support are still important for c-section parents.

One of our instructors, is supporting a scheduled c-section client today.

04/04/2026

Boredom and running around without every minute scheduled and planned is an important part of development. Imaginative play were a child act out scenes, pretend to be people, fantasies and pretending that objects are other things is crucial in development and critical thinking. Bottom line...step away parents no helicopter pareting aloud in free play. Just keep them safe and let them play.

Slow it down parents and STOP.
Big tech has got everyone in a tail spin.
We must protect childhood. We are placing children into digital arenas before their own identity has even had the chance to form, before they even know their own voice, what they like, they are absorbing everyone else’s. Before they understand their worth, they are measuring it. Before they have built any confidence, they are comparing it.
This is harmful exposure. This is interference with their development.
It is that serious. A public health crisis.

A child’s early years are meant for grounding and innocence, we must protect their time for real connections, real play, real boredom, real conversations. They need to experience who they are in the safety and strength of family, not in the performance of an online world.
When we allow social media too early, we hand over influence to strangers, to trends, to algorithms that DO NOT CARE about the wellbeing of our children. We replace our guidance with noise. We replace our presence with distraction and we ask children to navigate pressures they are not yet equipped to understand, let alone manage.
By the teenage years, the stakes are even higher. Identity, self worth, belonging, all of it becomes entangled with external validation. The question quietly shifts from Who am I to Am I enough. This is not okay!
As parents, our responsibility is not to keep our children away from the world forever. It is to prepare them for it. Preparation requires timing. It requires boundaries. It requires leadership.
Protection is not us punishing. It is not control. It is care.
A child who knows who they are is far less likely to be defined by anyone else. Our government knows this and need to step up and lead. Protect our children, enough with the consultation, act now! Jo x

04/04/2026

✨ Twins & Placenta 👶👶💖

Twins can share or have separate placentas depending on how they develop 🤰

🔸 Dichorionic Twins
• Each baby has its own placenta
• Safer and more common in fraternal twins

🔸 Monochorionic Twins
• Babies share one placenta
• Common in identical twins
• Needs closer monitoring

🔸 Monochorionic-Monoamniotic Twins
• Share one placenta and one amniotic sac
• Very rare and requires special care

💡 Each type affects how the pregnancy is monitored and cared for 💖

03/04/2026

03/04/2026

Did you know that there is no scientific evidence to support jungle juice or any of these other potions that claim to increase milk supply?

03/04/2026

✨ Infant Reflexes 👶💖

Newborn babies are born with natural reflexes that help them survive and grow 🤍

🔸 Rooting Reflex
• Turns head toward touch on the cheek
• Helps baby find milk 🍼

🔸 Sucking Reflex
• Baby automatically sucks when something touches the mouth

🔸 Moro (Startle) Reflex
• Baby throws arms out when startled 😮

🔸 Grasp Reflex
• Baby holds onto your finger tightly 🤲

🔸 Babinski Reflex
• Toes fan out when the foot is stroked 👣

💡 These reflexes are normal and usually fade as baby grows 💖

03/04/2026

Formula milk marketing exploits parental anxieties about common infant behaviours such as fussiness or poor sleep.

Premium branding is paraded as having 'premium benefits', when in fact the only difference is the price.

Claims made by the formula milk industry about their products are often misleading, scientifically unsubstantiated & violate the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.

WHO is calling on governments to end exploitative marketing and protect babies’ health.

02/04/2026

Hello April! 🌸

This month is all about celebrating the little joys of pregnancy—those tiny kicks, sweet moments, and all the love that comes with growing your little one. Enjoy every magical step of your journey!