Nurtured by Nature Naturopathic & Birth Support, Australia

17/01/2026

Yes. The system is very broken.

After 20 hours of labour, Giuditta’s baby’s heart rate dropped. What followed was shock that would stay with her for years. Link below.

07/01/2026

High-quality systematic review finds no value to "admission strip" CTG.... "Routine admission CTG in low-risk term pregnancies demonstrated no improvement in maternal or neonatal outcomes... These findings support current recommendations favouring IA [Intermittent auscultation] over routine admission CTG in low-risk pregnancies..." Full text at https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1471-0528.70047 Or as Henci Goer says "Just say no to routine CTG"... https://hencigoer.com/just-say-no-to-routine-continuous-fetal-monitoring/

16/12/2025

08/10/2025

I love these tales so much, and all the people who play their part in them 🥰💃🏻✨

12/09/2025

Edit: WAIT - some of you are making some sense… 10 Luna months = 280 days = up-to 42 week pregnancy. BUT 42 weeks minus 2-3 weeks between Last period and ovulation = 39 weeks of actual pregnancy 4.3weeks per month x 9 = 39 weeks… we are pregnant for 10 Luna months… 39 actual weeks of pregnancy BUT if estimated birth dates are counted from last period to 42 weeks it’s more like 10 calendar months… wait… ok, we are pregnant from 9-10 months depending on how you maths it and your definition of pregnant. What a morning 😆

Sometimes I read stuff I don’t want to. This is that week. This is your reminder that pregnancy is closer to TEN months than 9 months and we don’t deliver our baby we BIRTH them. 42 weeks is a normal term pregnancy
Any book that doesn’t recognise these fundamental basics. Get in the bin. months than 9 months and we don’t deliver our baby we BIRTH them.
Any book that doesn’t recognise these fundamental basics. Get in the bin.

22/08/2025

The best man.

Honoring Dr. Michel Odent (1930–2025)

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Michel Odent, a visionary who transformed how the world understands birth and breastfeeding.

✨ His gentle wisdom reminded us that mothers’ instincts matter, that birth can be respected, and that breastfeeding is part of a lifelong connection of love.

For decades, he worked closely with La Leche League, speaking at LLL gatherings and advising our LLLI Professional Advisory Board. He always affirmed the gentle continuum from birth to early breastfeeding.

Our hearts are with his family and loved ones. We are deeply grateful for their kindness in remembering La Leche League at this time, a gesture that beautifully reflects the values Dr. Odent dedicated his life to.



Photo: Michel Odent – portrait, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)

21/08/2025

Such a wonderful man… one of the very best advocates for women and keeping birthing sacred 💛

We are saddened to hear news of the passing of Michel Odent, whose vision and writing reshaped the way we understand human birth.

Michel Odent reminded us that birth is not a medical procedure to be controlled, but a primal rythm to be respected. He advocated for home-like maternity units, warm water births, protecting the birthing woman's privacy and honouring her instincts, undisturbed contact between mother and newborn; he was among the first to discuss the importance of the microbiome, and question many of the practices that had (and have) become normalised in overmedicalised maternity systems globally.

Michel Odent's legacy lives on in every dimmed, quiet birthing room, and in every midwife his words and work inspired to join our profession.

Thank you, Michel, for your passion, vision and committment to women and newborns.

Photo: Xavier Caré / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA

28/07/2025

🫶

27/05/2025

Sunny side up!!

👶🏽 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐘-𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐔𝐏 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 👶🏽

OP(occiput posterior) or more commonly known as sunny-side up baby, is a position where the baby is facing the mothers / birthers abdomen instead of facing their spine. The back of the baby’s head, which is the hardest part, rests on the birthers lower back. This position should NOT automatically warrant a cesarean.

MANY BABIES ARE BORN JUST FINE VAGINALLY IN THIS POSITION BUT CAN CAUSE THE FOLLOWING:
⭕️longer pregnancy
⭕️premature rupture of membranes
⭕️slowing of labor which can lead to use of Pitocin
⭕️back of baby’s head is applying pressure to birthers lower back/spine and causes more pain
⭕️pushing baby out can be harder and longer
⭕️vacuum/forcep assistance
⭕️vaginal tearing
⭕️cesarean

WHAT CAN YOU DO DURING PREGNANCY TO POSSIBLY AVOID AN OP BABY?
❇️SIT UP STRAIGHT! THE BACK OF THE BABYS HEAD IS THE HEAVIEST, SLOUCHING ALLOWS GRAVITY TO PULL THE BACK OF HIS HEAD TOWARDS YOUR SPINE!
❇️Spend time everyday sitting on a birthball
❇️Get into a hands and knees position twice a day for 10 minutes
❇️When sitting make sure your knees are always lower than your hips and lean forward instead of leaning back
❇️If you sit a lot for work, take regular breaks to get up and move around. ditch the office chair for a birth ball
❇️See a chiropractor

WHAT CAN YOU DO DURING BIRTH:
✅Keep active during labor
✅Utilize positions that open your pelvis and allows your baby room to rotate
✅PATIENCE! Lots of babies will rotate out of this position during labor with just using patience
✅Use of epidural can often lead to an OP baby(from less mobility), but sometimes if baby is ALREADY in an OP position for an extended amount of time, an epidural can help relax the pelvic floor and allow baby to turn.
✅HIRE A DOULA! They can help you with exercises to turn your baby naturally(like lunge positions, knees to chest, forward leaning, etc etc) or they might have skills with a rebozo to turn your baby!

Some babies are born OP with ease and some require help to navigate ❤️

-Love,
Flor Cruz
Badassmotherbirther

24/05/2025

Superstar.

Six months after giving birth, Stephanie Case returns to trail running with a shock victory in the Snowdonia ultramarathon, breastfeeding daughter Pepper along the mountainous 100km route.

23/04/2025

🫶🫶🫶

𝐕𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐜

Velamentous cord insertion happens when the umbilical cord attaches to the membranes (amnion/chorion) rather than directly into the center of the placenta. The vessels then travel unprotected through the membranes before reaching the placenta. That means no Wharton’s jelly cushioning those vessels, making them more vulnerable to rupture.

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?

Because if those vessels are lying near the cervix (vasa previa), and the membranes are artificially ruptured, especially before the baby is engaged or labor is well underway, those exposed vessels can tear. And that can cause rapid fetal blood loss. It’s rare, but when it happens, it’s an emergency.

So what can we do 🤔

𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 👏🏽 𝐓𝐇𝐄 👏🏽𝐒𝐀𝐂 👏🏽𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐓 👏🏽

There is power in physiological labor. Keeping the membranes intact protects the vessels, the cord, and the baby, especially in cases where velamentous insertion or vasa previa go undiagnosed prenatally.

Letting the waters break on their own supports:
🌿Cushioning for baby (and those delicate vessels)
🌿Optimal positioning through pressure regulation
🌿Hormonal pacing of labor
🌿Lower risk of cord compression or prolapse

Your waters are not a ticking time bomb.

They’re a protective shield.

Don’t rush the rupture. Trust the process.

-Love,
Flor Cruz
Badassmotherbirther

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, & 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭!
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