Breastfeeding Sisterhood

One of the first steps to reducing black maternal crisis is to “believe her.” the app to start the discussion.

👩‍👧‍👦 BREASTFEEDING MYTH 👩‍👧‍👦
"It is too risky to continue breastfeeding your older child during pregnancy and beyond in tandem with your new baby."

There is some concern among moms and even practitioners that continuing to nurse during pregnancy is risky and can lead to complications such as decreased nutrition to the unborn fetus or even preterm labor and delivery.

This is not only rare, but highly unlikely especially in well nourished women.

This unfounded concern is based on the thought that stimulation to the ni**le, which causes the release of Oxytocin the same hormone responsible for uterine contractions, could also stimulate the uterus to contract prior to full gestation. This is not the case.

In early pregnancy the uterus starts out being fairly insensitive to oxytocin. This does not change throughout the pregnancy until about 37 weeks , when there is a marked increase in sensitivity and responsiveness.

Unless you are severely malnourished you will be able to maintain your body's needs while also providing for the needs of both your older nursling and younger one, while still in the womb and also after the birth.

While continuing to nurse during pregnancy can present with some challenges such as ni**le soreness, possible decreased supply or maternal fatigue…there is no medical reason for a healthy mom to discontinue breastfeeding before she and her child are ready.

Both children will continue to receive the many benefits of breastfeeding for as long as they continue. “Tandem” nursing (nursing more than one child at a time) is actually quite the norm in most cultures and has been for thousands of years! ❤❤❤

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“When kids are anxious, it’s natural to want to help them feel better. But by trying to protect kids from the things that upset them, you can accidentally make anxiety worse.

The best way to help kids overcome anxiety is to teach them to deal with anxiety as it comes up. With practice, they will be less anxious.

When a child gets upset in an uncomfortable situation and their parents take them out of the situation, they learn that getting upset is a good way to cope. Instead, it’s helpful for parents to let kids know that they’re going to be okay, even if they’re scared.

You can’t promise your child that nothing bad will happen. But you can express confidence that they can face their fears and feel less afraid over time.

You can show your child empathy without agreeing with their fears. For example, you might say: “I know you’re scared to get this shot. It’s okay to be scared. You can get through this, and I’m going to help you.” It’s usually helpful to avoid leading questions (“Are you worried about the test tomorrow?”).

Instead, ask open questions (“How do you feel about the test tomorrow?”). You can use your tone of voice and body language to show your child that you’re calm, which can help them stay calm too.

Parents can also help by keeping kids distracted before something that might be upsetting, like a doctor’s appointment. Sometimes it helps to talk with your child about what might happen if their fears came true. What would they do? Who would they ask for help? Having a plan can calm anxiety.

Finally, parents can model healthy ways of handling anxiety. Parents get anxious too, and that’s okay! The goal is to show your child that anxiety is normal and that it doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

Tap the link to read ten ways parents can help support their children with anxiety.

https://childmind.org/article/what-to-do-and-not-do-when-children-are-anxious/

Look at these lovely faces! Three of many incredible therapists we have here at Heriford. We are more than ready to help support. Let us know how we can ☺️

www.thehhouse.org
https://forms.gle/JuWAvyQb9xx3Ax86A

Laid-Back breastfeeding is also known as biological nursing. It lets gravity do most of the work while mom is in a laid-back or reclining position.

Laid-Back Breastfeeding Optimal positioning for mom and baby

Use this link to register, for this years Summit
https://breastfeedingrose.org/rosesummit2022/
Virtual option now available!

Breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition for most infants. It’s an investment in health for both baby and mom. Learn more about why breastfeeding matters: https://bit.ly/3C64Sew

I love this picture by perfectly describes how I feel when my tummy rumbles and it’s all the way up by my ribs 😂

Our expectations for our children are often very different than the expectations we hold for ourselves.
We tell children not to yell---while we scream at them for not listening. We tell children to be respectful---while we are employ shame as a discipline strategy. We tell children to be mindful of the screen time habits ----while our face is glued to our screen.
First we need to look at our own actions before we look to our children's.

Virtual Dad’s support group

Starting this month, our virtual Dads Support Group will now meet every Friday, time varying based on the leader! It is a free online space for dads to connect with other dads and gain practical tips from managing stress, adjusting to parenting, Daddy Blues, or trying to figure out how best to support your partner.

View the schedule and register today at http://bit.ly/FindSupportGroup!

The tiny humans deserve respect too!

CDC's Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies Toolkit Learn about CDC’s Infant & Young Child Feeding in Emergencies Toolkit

Don't let social media posts about enormous freezer stashes with hundreds of ounces freak you out! You don't need a bunch of milk (or any milk in some cases) in the freezer to breastfeed your baby.

Highlights:

“The AAP is now more closely aligned with the WHO, AAFP, and other organizations on recommending exclusive breastfeeding for about 6 months followed by continued breastfeeding after the introduction of nutritious complementary foods as long as mutually desired for 2 years or beyond.

Breastfeeding and human milk feeding are considered the normative standards for growth and other health outcomes.

Increasing breastfeeding is a public health imperative and there remain unacceptable disparities that we must work to overcome.

The number of health outcomes that breastfeeding improves continues to mount with continuing research, affecting both mother and child.

Pediatricians play a key role in the decision to breastfeed and the maintenance of breastfeeding. Knowledge and skills are required to effectively manage breastfeeding for mothers to reach their intended goals.

Pediatricians should work with their local birth centers to implement known practices that support breastfeeding initiation, such as the WHO Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

Contraindications to breastfeeding are rare.”

Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk Breastfeeding and human milk are the normative standards for infant feeding and nutrition. The short- and long-term medical and neurodevelopmental advantages of breastfeeding make breastfeeding, or the provision of human milk, a public health imperative. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reco...

Postpartum Series Part One: In Support of the Post-Baby Body Pregnancy is a full body experience. But when it comes to physical changes and recovery, the common sentiment is: Why did nobody tell me?!

“The Initiative's goal is to improve breastfeeding initiation and duration rates in Black communities by prioritizing perinatal Black families, community health workers and organizations, and healthcare providers.”

About HEAL - Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere Health Equity Action for Lactation (HEAL) Breastfeeding Program for African American Mothers and Their Families Project Overview Expand The Initiative's goal is to improve breastfeeding initiation and duration rates in Black communities by prioritizing perinatal Black families, community health work...

Happy Father’s Day!

Tag Dad! ⤵️

Help us give them the flowers they deserve in the comments!

Happy . We see you, we value you, we love you! 💙

"The greatest purpose of breastfeeding our young from our bodies is to restore the human connection between mother and child to what was when baby was within the womb.

The act of removing a baby from it's mother during the golden hour to purely maintain protocol is highly offensive as the baby's first experience in our world, especially after passing from the spiritual realm and into the physical through the birthing process.

A baby's highest need upon birth is to be returned to it's mother, immediately to the outer-womb, and placed upon the stomach for the exciting breast crawl where baby will recognize the mother by smell and sound, it will experience the comfort of touch for the first time, and will receive confirmation through taste as it begins to nurse since the ar**la will excrete a lubricant that smells like the mother's amniotic fluid.

Finally, when their eyes open, hopefully as they are nursing for the very first time, they will now see the voice that spoke to them as their body developed for the past nine months, or so."

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✨ Excerpt from my coming poetry book -Comfort Unknown✨

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For feeding on the go

Hand expression is such a valuable tool!

Hand Expressing Milk Until recently hand expression of milk has been an under-utilized skill in our institution. But there are many benefits of knowing how to express milk from the breast without the use of expensive or cumbersome pumps. In this video, Dr. Jane Morton demonstrates how easily hand expression can be taugh...