Happy New Year !
Heres something thats not directly breastfeeding related but it just warms my heart . I remember when I looked after twins in the neonatal unit - I always tried to give them some time together in the incubator. Just imagine how awful it must have been to be separated from your wombmate.
Warning - there is a birthing scene right at the beginning of this (shock , horror!)
Came across this on another blog . There is a series of 7 starting with antenatal prep for breastfeeding right up to breastfeeding in public all from Breastfeeding New Zealand. .
There is excellent latching information on the 2nd video - great for teaching or new mothers to watch to troubleshoot .
I would love to make a video like these for Ireland. Some day...
The whole series is here: http://www.youtube.com/user/breastfeedingnz#p/a/u/0/21GiKtmcvO4
Fast forward to about 3 minutes to see the new international sign for supporting breastfeeding mothers . Milks Up . Its a thumbs up with the sign for milk also.
Its interesting because I got some feedback on a class I gave in October . One mum recommended her friends attend the class purely because a conversation we had about a breastfeeding mothers right to feed in public. I was just rattling on.. not realising as usual that not everyone knows its illegal to ask a mother to stop breastfeeding or move to another place ( here in Ireland) . This is a huge issue with Irish women and its even spread to foreign women living here who would be quite happy to breastfeed anywhere at home.
Im not sure the milks up sign will catch on here in Ireland - I imagine it might draw attention to the interaction when all thats happening is the most normal thing in the world .
Review of Making More Milk by Diana West IBCLC and Lisa Marasco IBCLC MA.
The Breastfeeding Mothers Guide to Making More Milk was published this year. It is a comprehensive guide for lactation professionals and mothers on the issue of low milk supply. Both the authors are experts in the area of low milk supply. It is currently the only book on the market that completely looks at this problem. The book is written in a very easy to read, friendly format – therefore suitable for mothers and anyone working/helping breastfeeding mothers and babies.
The book is divided into sections : what’s normal and what’s not, how to achieve an optimal milk supply in the early days , how to know if there really is a problem, is it the baby or the mother ? . The authors then go on to look at ways of increasing milk supply, guidelines of when to start supplements and how much to give and when to stop. Physical methods of increasing milk supply are explained and then galactalogues are divided into herbal and pharmaceutical. All chapters are referenced and there is a very handy galactalogue table with therapeutic dosages, potential side effects and interactions with other drugs, herbs. The last chapter is titled “Making Peace with your Milk Supply” and is beautifully written with compassion and hope for the future.
One of the most helpful chapters in the book is about supplementing. It looks at different methods – paced bottle feeding is explained, choosing the right teat and flow rate for a baby, and finally the “Finish at the Breast Method”. This is where the baby has the supplement first, then finish’s on the breast. This has been found to work well with the underweight baby – giving the supplement first gives the baby the energy to breastfeed well and also the baby learns to associate the euphoria of fullness with the breast and not the bottle. The mother also gets the satisfaction of contented “milk drunk “baby falling asleep at the breast.
As an IBCLC in private practice I see quite a lot of mothers with perceived and actual low milk supply. This book was a godsend! I knew a lot of the material but it put the whole jigsaw together. It has helped me immensely in my work with mothers and babies and also teaching IBCLC exam prep students. I have 4 copies of the book - one is precious as it was signed by Diana and Lisa at the PPLC conference in Philadelphia this year. The other copies, I lend out to clients and they post it back to me. I think it’s better for mothers to get their information from a reputable source rather than the internet and discussion boards. Of course, I’m also following up with them to discuss different strategies and offer encouragement.
The book is available on Amazon and other internet book stores. I highly recommend it!
My 12 year old son is currently ( as I write ) reading this book ... I pulled it out of the shelf last week because the homebirth conference didnt ignite me as much as I thought it would . I'm not having a homebirth - but certainly would like a homebirth ethos ( which really means , dont touch me / put anything on me such as hands or monitors /and I'm in charge ) . I'm a delight to be around in labour as my other half will testify !
So... Im sure its excellent educational material for a 12 year old - Im sure the pictures are making his eyes pop out . The question is will I ask him what he thinks ? When I was his age all we had was the mothercare catalogue .
Yeah I know its not cool to praise something from the HSE.... but the newly launched breastfeeding.ie website is very good. There is actually excellent information for mothers and professionals on it. There are some great case histories which are from real people and fact sheets which you could bring along to a GP or PHN who might not be up to speed on the latest info on ... depression and breastfeeding ( no , you dont have to stop )or tongue tie ( yes snipping does work in some cases ... more on that again)
Anyhow Im off to watch Ricki Lake on the Late Late Show - Im hoping Im going to become fired up about natural childbirth again - I've lost the incentive this time - been there , done that and its hard work!
I was clearing out presses today and came across this book . I bought it 14 years ago before I had kids . It must have been a prophecy for things to come although I wish I had rediscovered it when I had my first baby 12 years ago ( not when I'm about to have my 5th !) ..yes that's a sort of an announcement . So today I flicked through it - first of all i couldn't believe there was so many pictures of breastfeeding babies ! No bottles, soothers , rockers , swings etc... to be seen . Its just a fabulous book and a kind of gentle introduction to babies and what makes them tick . But my favourite quote by far is the title of chapter42 " What Makes A spoilt Baby? " A spoilt baby is one who has been disciplined not one who has been pampered. I love it and I think this man Desmond Morris is fantastic ! Its pure common sense of course ....
I'm an international board certified lactation consultant working in Dublin since 2005. Previously I worked in paediatrics and neonates as a nurse. Im married with 4 children ( aged 1yr to 12 years old).
