Labour with Love

07/02/2026

06/02/2026

So true !!

A nuchal cord occurs when the umbilical cord wraps around a fetus's neck during pregnancy or labor, a common, usually harmless, and non-preventable occurrence in about 1-in-3 .....33% of deliveries. The cord is protected with is what is called whartons jelly and can withstand much manipulation during pregnancy and birth.

04/02/2026

03/02/2026

03/02/2026

Getting rid of the myths !!

27/01/2026

She thought she was studying milk.
What she uncovered was a conversation.

In 2008, evolutionary anthropologist Katie Hinde was working in a primate research lab in California, analyzing breast milk from rhesus macaque mothers. She had hundreds of samples and thousands of data points. Everything looked ordinary—until one pattern refused to go away.

Mothers raising sons produced milk richer in fat and protein.
Mothers raising daughters produced a larger volume with different nutrient balances.

It was consistent. Repeatable. And deeply uncomfortable for the scientific consensus.

Colleagues suggested error. Noise. Statistical coincidence.
But Katie trusted the data.

And the data pointed to a radical idea.

Milk is not just nutrition.
It is information.

For decades, biology treated breast milk as simple fuel. Calories in. Growth out. But if milk were only calories, why would it change depending on the s*x of the baby?

Katie kept digging.

Across more than 250 mothers and over 700 sampling events, the story grew more complex. Younger, first-time mothers produced milk with fewer calories but significantly higher levels of cortisol—the stress hormone.

The babies who drank it grew faster.
They were also more alert, more cautious, more anxious.

Milk wasn’t just building bodies.
It was shaping behavior.

Then came the discovery that changed everything.

When a baby nurses, microscopic amounts of saliva flow back into the breast. That saliva carries biological signals about the infant’s immune system. If the baby is getting sick, the mother’s body detects it.

Within hours, the milk changes.

White blood cells surge.
Macrophages multiply.
Targeted antibodies appear.

When the baby recovers, the milk returns to baseline.

This was not coincidence.
It was call and response.

A biological dialogue refined over millions of years. Invisible—until someone thought to listen.

As Katie reviewed existing research, she noticed something unsettling. There were twice as many scientific studies on erectile dysfunction as on breast milk composition.

The first food every human consumes.
The substance that shaped our species.
Largely ignored.

So she did something bold.

She launched a blog with a deliberately provocative name: Mammals Suck Milk.
It exploded. Over a million readers in its first year. Parents. Doctors. Scientists. People asking questions research had skipped.

The discoveries kept coming.

Milk changes by time of day.
Foremilk differs from hindmilk.
Human milk contains over 200 oligosaccharides babies can’t digest—because they exist to feed beneficial gut bacteria.
Every mother’s milk is biologically unique.

In 2017, Katie brought this work to a TED stage. In 2020, it reached a global audience through Netflix’s Babies. Today, at Arizona State University’s Comparative Lactation Lab, she continues reshaping how medicine understands infant development, neonatal care, formula design, and public health.

The implications are staggering.

Milk has been evolving for more than 200 million years—longer than dinosaurs walked the Earth. What we once dismissed as simple nourishment is one of the most sophisticated communication systems biology has ever produced.

Katie Hinde didn’t just study milk.
She revealed that nourishment is intelligence.
A living, responsive system shaping who we become before we ever speak.

All because one scientist refused to accept that half the story was “measurement error.”

Sometimes the biggest revolutions begin by listening to what everyone else ignores.

These stories are created with care, time, and research. If you’d like to help support this work, you can do so

https://buymeacoffee.com/reeceryan

Every coffee helps me keep creating.

09/01/2026

So true

09/01/2026

21/12/2025

This is Michelle from Labour with Love I am on holiday till 16th January 2026

15/12/2025

So true !!!

Transfer to hospital is not a failure. It is part of the safety net that makes planned homebirth a safe and well integrated option. A transfer means that midwives are doing exactly what they are trained to do. They assess, they monitor, and they act early when something would be better managed in a hospital environment. This is how risk is managed in evidence based homebirth models, and the research consistently shows that timely transfer contributes to good outcomes.

Homebirth is not about avoiding the hospital at all costs. It is about beginning labour in the environment that best supports physiology and then moving into higher level care if it becomes clinically appropriate. Transfers are not dramatic events in most cases. They are thoughtful, collaborative, and often precautionary decisions that reflect the strength of the model, not a weakness. Women who transfer frequently report still feeling respected and informed because continuity and relationship are preserved throughout the process.

Join Homebirth Queensland for only $33 a year. Membership gives you a place in our advocacy, and for birth workers, access to valuable community networks, support groups, and resources.

13/12/2025

Many parents believe letting a baby “cry it out” teaches independence and self-soothing. Neuroscience shows a very different reality. When a baby is left to cry alone, their nervous system goes into high alert. Heart rate rises, breathing becomes shallow, and stress hormones flood the body. The silence afterward is not calm, it is exhaustion.

In 2019, over 700 Danish child psychologists warned against solitary sleep training. Their concerns focused on elevated stress hormones and weakened attachment. When babies are left alone, the amygdala, the brain’s fear center, learns that strong feelings are ignored. The vagus nerve, which helps regulate stress, misses the practice it needs to calm the body. Over time, this can affect emotional growth.

Soothing a baby is not spoiling. It provides safety, supports healthy brain development, and teaches emotional regulation. Just as babies are guided when learning to walk, they need guidance in handling big feelings. Calm, consistent comfort teaches the brain that distress is temporary and that help is reliable.

Responding to a baby’s cry strengthens attachment, reduces stress, and lays the foundation for emotional resilience. Research shows that babies who receive responsive care develop stronger brains, better emotional regulation, and healthier relationships throughout life.