Delayed Cord Cutting

This is an interesting article of how delayed cord cutting can help your baby.  I am a great proponent of allowing the cord to stop pulsating before it is cut.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2062041/How-delay-cutting-cord-help-baby.html

Skin to Skin

As midwives we promote skin to skin contact with your newborn baby.  If all is well we birth your baby onto your abdomen from birth.  This helps your newborn baby to adapt to life outside the womb where the umbilical cord (iho) is sending a rich blood supply from the placenta (whenua) to your newborn baby.  It helps with temperature control, if you are feeling shivery from the hard work of labour your baby will warm you up and vice versa.

Secondly, it helps promote breastfeeding, your baby will go to the breast and even if he/she does not latch straight away the benefits of skin to skin is phenomenal, even for premature babies.  If you do not know already, I am a great proponent of the love hormone :-) oxytocin, this  is what I call the 'falling in love' hormone.  

There is an invisible feedback mechanism between you and your newborn baby that you cannot see but goes on nevertheless.  You are falling in love with your newborn baby that you cannot put him down, we call this 'bonding.'  Oxytocin triggers the let down reflex when your baby goes to the breast and at the same time, it contracts your uterus to help the placenta expel itself.  I will discuss lotus births in another article but for now, I will keep to skin to skin.  

There is also good evidence for delayed cord cutting at birth until the cord (iho) has stopped pulsating.  This is because your baby is still receiving a rich source of iron, oxygen and nutrients that help your baby to adapt to his/her new world.

Speak to you midwife about skin to skin contact.

http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/Skintoskinpdf.pdf 

Updated information area

I have updated the information area on our website

www.marieandmaureen.co.nz

I am adding various articles which I will ensure are on my blog and the website.

New website

What a beautiful day in Whangarei!  What a busy week with setting up not one BUT two new websites!  I will have to design websites for a living.  


www.marieandmaureen.co.nz

Because two other midwives will be joining us in our lovely new offices on Otaika Road, I have set up the Otaika Road Midwives website which is under construction but I thought I would introduce Melissa and Sue.  Some of my ladies will know Melissa, as she covered me when I went to England in July (thank you Melissa) and Sue, who used to be a Whangarei Team midwife but is now coming out as an independent.  Kia ora guys.


www.otaikaroadmidwives.com

A very exciting time for us

Hi everyone,


It has been a very busy time for myself and Maureen.  We have been using every spare moment to set up our new website www.marieandmaureen.co.nz  AND moving into our new premises at 
87 Otaika Road, Whangarei. 


It is very exciting to have new offices and right opposite the tourist centre in Whangarei, for any pregnant tourists out there :-), actually the food is pretty tasty, so very convenient just nipping across the road for a tea and veggie slice.

Our new website

Maureen and I have  new website and have been busy setting it up.  I love a challenge and designing your own website is certainly one of them :-)


www.marieandmaureen.co.nz

My new midwifery partner

WOW!  Where does a month go?  We are nearly at the end of September and Spring is here.  I am so pleased that I have a new midwifery partner Maureen (please see our web site www.mariethemidwife.net introducing her).  Maureen is a very experienced midwife who, until recently worked at Whangarei hospital.  We share the same philosophies and both of us are passionate about our love of midwifery and working for the family/whanau. 

We will both be contributing articles to the blog as we go along.  That will make up for the last couple of months when it has been really busy for me that I have been unable to get a blog written

:-)