11 Things you didnt know about breastfeeding

1. Who needs the gym? The metabolic energy needed to breastfeed a baby each day is the amount you’d use to walk seven miles.

2. It’s not always easy to learn, but it is instinctual. Newborns held skin-to-skin in the first hour or two after birth may push their way toward mom’s breast and start feeding on their own.

3. Liquid gold. Human milk is sold on the Internet for $4 per ounce. That’s about 262 times the price of oil.

4. You’re probably a righty. Almost three-quarters of moms produce more milk with their right breast (and it has nothing to do with being right-handed).

5. Distinctive scent. Breastfed babies can practically pick their moms out of a lineup based on smell alone.

6. Know your nipple. Breast milk sprays out of many holes, not just one. The exact number varies from mom to mom.

7. Bigger isn’t necessarily better. The amount of breast milk a mom produces has nothing to do with her breast size.

8. Implants don’t impact. Most women with breast implants are still able to breastfeed.

9. A “breastfeeding high.” Nursing baby triggers the release of the hormone oxytocin, which relaxes you and baby both.

10. The ’60s sucked for nursing. US breastfeeding rates were lowest in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when only 20 to 25 percent of mothers breastfed.

11. Hang in there! In 2011, 74.6 percent of US babies were breastfed (ever), but by six months, only 14.8 percent were exclusively breastfed.

11 Things you didnt know about breastfeeding

Comments

• I would also add about the wonderful health benefits to both mum and baby that comes with breastfeeding.  Why breast is best
• With regard to breast implants, it may interfere with the ability to breastfeed and establishing a milk supply may take longer. Breastfeeding after surgery
• It is important to exercise to help tone up your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles. 
• New Zealands reported breastfeeding rates compare favourably with the rates of other OECD countries.  Baby Friendly

What is an Ultrasound Scan?

An ultrasound scan is a procedure that uses high frequency sound waves that bounce off the baby in your womb and uses echoes to create an image of your baby.

When are scans done?  Many women have at least one scan in pregnancy but some women do not wish to have any scans.

Dating Scan 
Done in early pregnancy if the woman is unsure of her dates although a more accurate dating scan is ideally done between 10-13 weeks pregnant when a crown -rump length is measured.  Later dating scans will measure the baby's head circumference and the gestational age will be estimated.  This scan can also detect if you are expecting one baby, twins or more.  It is also done to identify the cause of any vaginal bleeding or pelvic pain and to see if your baby is developing in the womb and not in the Fallopian tube (ectopic pregnancy).

Nuchal Translucency Scan (NT)
Done between 11 weeks - 13 weeks and six days, this scan measures the fluid around the back of your baby's neck to assess your chances of having a baby with Downs Syndrome.  The nuchal translucency is usually done in combination with maternal serum screening (first trimester screening).

Anatomy Scan
This scan is performed between 18-20 weeks pregnant.  This scan will measure the baby's gestational age, size, weight of the baby and position of the baby.  The sonographer (person who  carries out the scan) will also check your baby's body to see if any problems.  Your placenta will be checked to see where it is situated in your womb and to check the fluid (liquor) volume that surrounds baby.  There are many abnormalities that cannot be detected in the womb.  If any concerns have been picked up by the scan, your midwife will refer you to the Consultant obstetrician.

Although you are excited to have a scan, it is not just to identify what sex your baby is but done to detect any problems your baby may have.  It also may not be possible to see if what sex your baby is because of his/her position in the womb.

Scans for other reasons
Amniocentesis or Chorionic villi sampling (CVS) to check the location of the placenta and the position of your baby.
Growth scans.  These are performed on a more frequent basis if there are concerns for the growth of your baby or you have had a previously small baby.
For diabetes, twins or any other medical conditions.

How is an ultrasound scan carried out?

The scan is done by a trained sonographer who has a postgraduate diploma or Masters degree in ultrasound scanning.  If you having a special procedure such as an amniocentesis or CVS, the scan will be performed by an Obstetric Consultant.

If you are having a dating scan or nuchal translucency, you will need to drink at least 3 glasses of water an hour before your appointment to esure you have a full bladder.  This helps to push your uterus out of your pelvis to give the sonographer a good view of your baby.  He/She will put some gel on your tummy and move a hand held device to get an image of your baby.

It is not always possible to get a clear image of your baby using abdominal ultrasound and sometimes the sonographer will carry out a vaginal scan.

An ultrasound scan does not hurt but if you have a full bladder there may be mild discomfort, if you are in pain, please let the sonographer know.

When your scan is completed the sonographer will give you an image of your baby to keep and may be in the form of a picture or DVD.

Are there any risks with an ultrasound scan?
Although to date, the results of follow-up studies on patients and children
who had been examined before birth have not demonstrated a causal link between adverse health effects and ultrasound exposure (Australasian Society for Ultrasound in medicine) it would be wise to limit the number of ultrasound scans performed in pregnancy.

8 ways to manage labour pain

     "They don't call it labor for nothing. Having a baby is hard work, and part of that work is getting through the pain. But don't panic. There are more ways than ever to manage that pain, and you don't have to choose just one. "The trick is to have as many tools in your bag as possible," says Kim Hildebrand Cardoso, a certified nurse-midwife in Berkeley, California, and a mother of two. "You don't know what's going to work until you're in it, and what helps a woman at one point can change five minutes later." That's why it's important to keep an open mind and do your research. So take a deep breath (good practice for later) and prepare to enter the wide world of pain management."

Ways to manage labour pain

Why do I have morning sickness?

Nausea and vomiting is a common but not well understood condition or pregnancy, is certainly not confined to mornings and in fact, it can be all day sickness.  Symptoms usually appear by 4-6 weeks of pregnancy and one of the signs that a woman suspects that she could be pregnant.
It can also be very debilitating and may not be well understood by family, friends and employers.

It is usually associated with rising levels of hormones that feed the early developing baby until the placenta is fully formed and by 12-14 weeks the symptoms have resolved.  It is extremely difficult to treat because of the potential harm that medications can cause.  

Certain foods, tobacco and smells can trigger the nausea and make it worse.   I came across an interesting study undertaken by two Cornell biologists, who suggest that morning sickness protects the mother and her developing baby. The researchers believe that it may explain why many women have an aversion to meat, certain vegetables, caffeinated beverages and tobacco in the early stages of pregnancy.  It is because her body is trying to protect the developing embryo from the toxins and chemicals that may be present in certain foods and chemicals.  The body is also protecting the mother’s immune system which is naturally suppressed at this time.


Had I known this when I had very bad morning sickness when I had my children, it would have made more sense of my situation, maybe not have made it easier to bear but understanding why I was constantly sick and ‘listening’ to my body.

There are some self-help remedies that you can do to help yourself

• Instead of three large meals a day, eat 6-8 smaller meals throughout the day.  A snack of dry toast or dry crackers before bedtime and before getting up in the morning, this will help to maintain your blood sugar levels to reduce the risk of nausea.
• Avoid highly spiced and fried foods, although the smell may put you off these foods anyway.
• Reduce your caffeine intake and keep tea and coffee to a minimum of 2 cups per day.
• Vegemite or marmite spread on toast or crackers for its natural Vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 is a natural antihistamine that may help to reduce the nausea.
• Ensure that you are drinking plenty of fluids, at least one glass of water an hour during the waking hours.
• Gentle walking after eating may help.
• Slippery elm (available at the supermarket) may help to reduce the nausea.  It is quite bland so mixing it with some honey will make it more palatable.   
• Sipping ginger tea or ginger ale made with real ginger.

Alternative therapies

•   Acupressure wristbands help some women
•   Acupuncture

If you are continuously vomiting and you are unable to keep any fluid or solids down, this is a much more severe form of morning sickness called Hyperemesis Gravidarum and needs to be treated immediately.  Please contact your midwife or gp who will be able to advise you.

Morning sickness may be protecting you and your baby

What is an ecbolic? Do I need one?

What is an ecbolic?  Do I need one?

"My midwife has asked if I want a natural delivery of the placenta (whenua), or would I prefer an injection to deliver it?"

What is the third stage of labour?

The third stage of labour is defined as the period from the birth of your baby until the complete birth of the placenta/whenua and membranes (NZCOM, 2006).

An ecbolic is an injection of a synthetic hormone that is given into your thigh with the birth of the baby’s shoulders.  The injection can be either syntocinon or syntometrine, although the drug of preference tends to be syntocinon.  Birthing the placenta and membranes by this method is called ‘active management of the third stage of labour’ and used to produce uterine contractions to help control the bleeding from the placental site.

When is the injection necessary?

If you have your labour induced, your labour is augmented (given an intravenous hormone to make your contractions more frequent, you have an instrumental delivery (forceps or ventouse), Caesarean section, postpartum haemorrhage or you have a medical reason.  The recommendations are that you have an active management of the third stage.   Your consent is required for the injection to be given, although if there is an emergency situation, there may not be time to discuss it fully with you but your midwife will advise you.

Do I have to have the injection?

The New Zealand College of midwives recognises that women can expect a physiological third stage (where the mother births her placenta without the aid of an ecbolic) when there has been a straight forward labour and birth. 

During your pregnancy your midwife will discuss your birth plan and explain the options available to you.

Links

NZCOM - Third Stage of labour Consensus statement

Leaving well alone - a natural approach to the third stage of labour

Past your dates?

Lots of women ask what they can do to get labour going when their expected date of delivery goes past.  Some women try sex, hot curry, sex and a hot curry :-), a long walk, nipple stimulation.  We do not recommend the taking of castor oil to try and get your labour started, it can cause nasty stomach cramps, diarrhoea and you still end up not going into labour.  

This interesting article discusses the folklore.

"“There are all kinds of obstetrical folklore and old-wives tales out there,” says Jonathan Schaffir, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Ohio State University and lead author of the study, published in the June issue of the journal Birth. “If it’s not something perceived as being harmful, patients think there’s no downside. Even if it doesn’t work, it’s something to pass the time.”

http://healthland.time.com/2011/06/22/sex-spicy-food-etc-half-of-pregnant-women-try-obstetrical-folklore-to-induce-labor/

A special Waterbirth

I wonder if the lady in the pool is her midwife?  Beautiful birth of a baby dolphin.