Hartfelt Births- Doula Services

09/02/2024

09/02/2024

16/09/2022

Colostrum – This is the first milk your body produces for your baby. It is often a golden thick liquid and is usually in your breast from about 32 weeks. Some women start leaking colostrum before they have a baby, others never leak. Don’t stress either way, babies are very efficient at getting milk out 🤍

21/06/2022

🙌 a woman being able to feel what’s happening in her body & being able to move accordingly is soooo powerful 👏

06/04/2022

🙌

27/03/2022

Beautiful 😍

17/03/2022

In the hospital they usually tell moms to try to breastfeed every 2-3 hours. Wake baby to nurse every 2-3 hours. That way you can make sure to nourish baby and bring in a good milk supply.

Unfortunately this isn’t exactly how it works🙄 this visual was shared in a post from a friend that I shared a couple years ago and it’s incredibly accurate.

It’s basic math that they use in the hospital to give you the “ideal” feeding schedule. This “ideal schedule” equals about 8-12 nursing sessions in 24 hours which means baby would only have to nurse every 2-3 hours.

This is their way of saying that baby needs to eat often, but this isn’t exactly how it works for mom and baby in real life. Which can cause a mom to really struggle when her baby wants to nurse more often than every 2-3 hours! Nothing like setting new moms up to fail🤦‍♀️

Because they push this so heavily, I’ve noticed that parents seem to think breastfeeding is going to be super simple and perfectly spaced out feedings like the cereal picture. It also makes it look as though all feedings should be the same size so they should be nursing for the same amount of time each time. Which also is NOT accurate.

THIS IS NOT THE REALITY. In reality, baby will have big/long feeds sometimes. Or little/short feeds. Or feeding sessions while they are still mostly asleep. Or feeding sessions that aren’t so great. Or anything in between! They are not guaranteed to sleep better just because their feedings are all spaced out perfectly and done for the same length of time.

Instead of watching the clock and timing sessions, let baby lead! Watch for feeding cues from your little one and go from there😊

I also wanted to say that I love the blueberries portion of this visual. It shows more of a reality for how nursing sessions go. Some are bigger. Some are smaller. Sometimes there’s a longer amount of time in between. And in counting the berries, there are STILL the correct number of nursing sessions for the day.

Amazing, right?! Our bodies and our babies know what they are doing. Let them lead💙💚

Words by: Ariel Kaye
Image by: .dietitian

16/03/2022

Hope this helps someone that’s suffering with this at the moment as it is very painful 😣

Raise your hand if you've ever suffered from the dreaded clogged ducts! 🙋🏾‍♀️

The next time you have one, try this Milky Mama tip.

➡️ Fill your Haakaa with enough warm water to make contact with your ni**le. Make sure that the water is warm but not burning hot as you don't want to burn yourself.
➡️ Add 1-2 tablespoons of Epsom Salts.
➡️ Attach your Haakaa to the breast with the clogged duct and allow the combination of heat, the salts, and suction to help remove the clog.
➡️ Keep the Haakaa attached for 10-15 minutes. You may need to repeat several times for large and/or stubborn clogs.

SAVE this post to keep on hand the next time you have a clogged duct!

14/03/2022

When I carried you
Beneath my beating heart
We shared more than my body
For it was just the start

Our cells begin to merge
As I become your home
A comfort it does bring
To never be alone

Your strength within my bones
Your blood throughout my veins
Healing broken pieces
Nurturing me the same

An instinct so ingrained
Forever now within
Always on my mind
A type of second skin

The divinity of life
To feel you when we’re apart
Mother nature’s imprint
Stored safely in my heart

And to the little babies
Who never made it to my arms
To know we grow together
Is a peaceful kind of calm

We’ll always carry our children
Now science tells us this is true
But in the centre of our being
A mother always knew.

Words: Jess Urlichs, Writer
Art: angelica.ch.r

I have been reading up a bit on microchimerism since seeing an article on page that just had me in tears. It was what I needed to see after my two losses. It’s so special to know that for each child, whether we carry them to term or not, their DNA will live in us forever.

Jess Urlichs, Writer

☀️🌻 For support in your gentle parenting journey, pick up a copy of our beautiful bumper summer issue with gorgeous free Baby's First Year Journal. Grab your copy from supermarkets throughout NZ and newsagents throughout Australia! To find your local stockist, or to subscribe, visit https://linktr.ee/TheNaturalParentMagazine ☀️🌻

03/03/2022

Mothers are amazing 🤩

20/02/2022

🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌 amazing

Repost
・・・
Just another fantastic example of alternative birthing positions with an epidural… it makes you wonder what other options are out there you haven’t been told about!

Posted •

Foley bulb and Pitocin induction✅
Epidural? ✅
Hands and knees? ✅
Peanut ball?✅
The Cub? ✅

Put that all together and what do you have? You have a great birth experience chosen by the client and fully supported by her caregiver, labor nurse, and doula. That’s what you have!

This momma was able to labor in many different positions using Cub and The Peanut Ball( seen here to support her weight so that she didn’t feel like she had to support herself).

15/12/2021

“We think in pictures and we should be painting accurate pictures. The cervix nor the va**na bloom. The cervix is not a zip lock bag. The purpose of labor is NOT the creation of an opening or a hole... The purpose of labor contractions and retractions is to BUILD the fundus, which will, when it is ready, EJECT the baby, like a piston. Without a nice thick fundus there is no power to get baby out....the cervix does not dilate out....it dilates UP as a result of the effort to pull muscles up into the uterus to push muscles up to the fundus. The cervical dilation is secondary to that. The cervix is pulled up as a result of the building of the fundus. Assigning a number to cervical dilation is of little consequence and we make a huge mistake by interpreting progress or predicting time of birth to that number. Any experienced midwife or OB can tell you that the cervix can be manipulated and that a woman whose cervix is at 7 could have the baby in a few minutes or a few hours.
If more providers and educators knew the truth about birth physiology, we could make a huge difference for mothers. What is important is to keep her well supported for the purpose of the appropriate chemistry, to keep her well hydrated and nourished for muscle strength, and to believe in her. We should be supporting her so that her physiology and that of her baby are unhindered, so they can finish what they started.
We should not be measuring, poking, or interpreting her labor. THIS CHANGE in teaching about labor could make such a difference for women who are imagining what is happening in their bodies during labor. How much more strength might they have if they have an accurate picture?" -Carla Hartley

03/12/2021

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

When I walked in the door, she said, 'I feel like I have to push soon.'
19 minutes later, her baby was born. She labored in front of the hospital bed, leaning on her husband for support. He supported her weight, he supported her with affirmations and love. It was truly beautiful to witness.
Then, with a splash, her water broke all over the floor. Then a few pushes later and baby was here!
I can't wait to share more of this amazing birth story.

28/10/2021

It can be done & should be done. There is nothing wrong with getting pain relief during labour! But to be told that after having an epidural you need to stay on the bed on or back just slows things down & usually ends up with a whole heap of interventions/ “problems”. Please tell women their options properly so they are informed probably

14/10/2021

07/08/2021

“Anger is a distress signal. ⁣⁣
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Anger in the postpartum period is a red flag that is being overlooked and misunderstood. ⁣⁣
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Studies have shown that moms struggling with PPA/PPA are more likely to have symptoms of rage. ⁣⁣
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This rage is often intense, hard to control and feels very uncharacteristic.”⁣⁣
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Here is a short excerpt from Jill Bucher of ⁣⁣
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“Anger is indeed a normal emotion that we can all have, but being prone to anger can indicate there’s something going on that needs to change.” She [Christine Ou] adds that there is some evidence that shows that if a woman is both angry and depressed, the depression can last longer and be more intense.⁣⁣
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The things that moms are angry about postpartum aren’t earth-shattering. Some feel trapped or helpless as they shoulder so many new responsibilities caring for a new baby while their own needs are left unfulfilled. Others find the reality of motherhood and the supports they receive don’t live up to their expectations. And many feel guilty that they aren’t the picture of the idealized self-sacrificing mother that’s upheld in our society.⁣⁣
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What’s more surprising is that no one’s thought to look at anger as a red flag for postpartum mood disorders sooner. Ou has a theory as to why it has been overlooked: “Culturally, we often aren’t comfortable with the emotion of anger because it can imply that you’re not in control—especially for women.” And women who’ve just had babies are expected to be particularly blissful.⁣⁣
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If you are struggling with postpartum rage please visit . They have several resources and a directory that can help you find a maternal mental health provider in your area. ⁣⁣
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https://www.todaysparent.com/baby/postpartum-care/postpartum-anger-is-the-red-flag-no-one-is-looking-for/⁣⁣