Cherished Parenting Services

03/09/2025

I've just seen this photo come up from last year's Perth Pregnancy and Postnatal Expo (organised by Vicki Hobbs, photo by Cat Fancote - sorry, my Facebook is really bad at tagging).

I and my mini me helper (aka my daughter) won't be able to make it this year, but all the products are available year round.

Visit my website or get in touch for details

23/08/2025

I'll just leave this here...

https://www.facebook.com/share/14EZf4rp3qA/

18/08/2025

Hence why midwives warn 'September is coming'!

15/08/2025

I've never been a fan of at home fetal heart rate devices, and actually warmed clients and the public not to use them, but I wasn't aware they had avaliable been banned by the TGA...

Sorry to share a distressing article, this is more to highlight that fetal monitoring should not be done by anyone but a trained professional.

If you're concerned about your baby, please see someone

https://www.9news.com.au/national/home-use-foetal-heart-monitor-linked-to-deaths-tga-warning/3ae9514c-99d6-436b-91db-c841201e29f1?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwMLpOhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHl-JpBl168cBbslKdsC2F66SiEf_1D78tTBa4tRBqfTh-sxWGq6MmagVUKBC_aem_aq6YJxoYlQEV81G92jTg6g&sfnsn=mo

Warning illegal pregnancy devices could be associated with baby deathsBy Adam Vidler8:22am Aug 15, 2025 X Facebook Mail Banned pregnancy devices are leading to deaths around Australia as they continue to be illegally traded, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has warned.Following a review in Septe...

14/08/2025

I don't often talk about ties - I believe they exist and will refer as needed, but I also believe there's more to feeding issues than just a frenulum under the tongue.

In saying that, there's graphics from LA Lactation express exactly what I say to clients at times - the 'grading' of them doesn't signify how bad your feeding issues may be - a seemingly 'small' TT could have a big impact on feeding. Even using a tool that gives you a score may not correlate to the issues you may experience (and you might not have any issues even with a supposedly 'severe' tie).

And if another health professional says 'don't worry it won't cause you any issues' before your feeding journey has even really started....I wish I knew where they got their crystal ball from! I need one

06/08/2025

It's been a while since I've done a fl**ge sizing reminder post.

When I first started this business, I used the rule of 'measure the ni**le and add 4mm'. I knew that smaller than the 'standard' size was better, but I still dread to think of how many people I oversized using that rule!

But in 2020 I decided to let people test out fl**ges in person (without them needing to purchase them). And I learnt that most people preferred a fl**ge that was much smaller than I originally thought. And I become unafraid to test out even smaller that what you might think possible and the results were surprising

The mothers seem to prefer a much smaller fl**ge than many probably even though possible.

I learnt by getting feedback and letting people come again and again to test out sizes. And in most cases going smaller was better.

I am so confident that mothers need smaller than I no longer sell anything bigger than 21mm (I do have some on hand for the 1500 mothers in the last 5 years and while I don't get feedback for everyone, the vast majority of the feedback I do get is overwhelmingly positive.

Interestingly, 1-2mm too big can be worse than way too big - my theory is because just a bit too much of ar**la is being pulled in and this causes the vast majority of issues.

Of course, if something is not broken, you don't need to fix it - but if you are having issues with expressing, go smaller - and if you are still having issues, go smaller again!

www.cherishedparenting.com.au/fl**ge-sizing-guide

04/08/2025

🤱🤰👶 Happy World Breastfeeding Week 🤱🏿🤱🏽🤱🏻

August 1st to 7th is World Breastfeeding Week.

This year's theme is 'Creating sustainable breastfeeding'.

Currently the exclusive breastfeeding rate to 6mths the world over is 48% - the goal was to get to 50% by this year (the stats aren't known yet) and 70% by 2030.
This will only be achieved with breastfeeding support, by all groups.

This week I'm going to share with you how different groups can help support breastfeeding.

So far we have discussed how midwives and partners can support breastfeeding - go check out the posts for more information

Next up, the community in general

🌸 Community support can make a difference 🌸

Society at large play a crucial role in shaping a woman's decision to breastfeed and ensuring her success.

Breastfeeding can be severely impacted by spreading misinformation. And not just about breastfeeding, but about infant needs in general.

Ways the community can help:

🍽 Help new parents with cooking, cleaning, child care and other chores

🤱 Know that breastfeeding/milk is beneficial for as long as mothers and babies/children want to breastfeed

⚠️ Do not be fooled by or spread misleading marketing or negative breastfeeding messages

✅ It is legal for mothers to breastfeed their baby/toddler/child where ever it is legal for a mother and baby to be

03/08/2025

🤱🤱🏾🤱🏼 Happy World Breastfeeding Week 🤱🏿🤱🏽🤱🏻

August 1st to 7th is World Breastfeeding Week.

This year's theme is 'Creating sustainable breastfeeding'.

Currently the exclusive breastfeeding rate to 6mths the world over is 48% - the goal was to get to 50% by this year (the stats aren't known yet) and 70% by 2030.

This will only be achieved with breastfeeding support, by all groups. This week I'm going to share with you how different groups can help support breastfeeding.

Next up, partners! And of course, all family members

🌸 Partners can make a difference 🌸

Partners play a crucial role in shaping a woman's decision to breastfeed and ensuring her success.

Empathy, understanding, and support from partners (and other family members) can be critical to extending a mother and baby's breastfeeding journey. When partners are supportive breastfeeding can face any hurdle. And mothers can feel safe to continue breastfeeding for as long as they wish

Ways partners can help:

🏫 Attend antenatal education with mum

🍽 Help with cooking, cleaning, child care and other chores

🗣 Communicate with mum frequently and listen to her needs

👶🏾 Build your own unique bond with baby through other activities (not feeding)

⚠️ Do not be fooled by misleading marketing

🔀 Share your positive breastfeeding stories with other partners

02/08/2025

🤱🤱🏾🤱🏼 Happy World Breastfeeding Week 🤱🏿🤱🏽🤱🏻

August 1st to 7th is World Breastfeeding Week.

This year's theme is 'Creating sustainable breastfeeding'.

Currently the exclusive breastfeeding rate to 6mths the world over is 48% - the goal was to get to 50% by this year (the stats aren't known yet) and 70% by 2030.

This will only be achieved with breastfeeding support, by all groups. This week I'm going to share with you how different groups can help support breastfeeding.

First up, Midwives!

🌸 Midwives can make a difference 🌸

Midwives play a crucial role in shaping a woman's decision to breastfeed and ensuring her success.

Quality midwifery care improves survival, health, and well-being throughout pregnancy, birth, and beyond.

Breastfeeding is a continuation of pregnancy and birth, so midwives should be able to support mothers (and families) throughout the entire journey.

Here’s how midwives can protect, promote, and support breastfeeding:

👩‍🏫 Educate youth about breastfeeding during reproductive health lessons

👪 Guide families antenatally on benefits and management of breastfeeding

🌟 Encourage empowering birthing choices and minimise unnecessary interventions that may negatively affect breastfeeding

👶 Support the “golden hour” (or more) with uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact and early breastfeeding initiation

🤱 Provide skilled postpartum breastfeeding counselling
💼 Help mothers integrate breastfeeding and work or other periods of separation

🤝 Continue care and support across the breastfeeding period

🚫 Refuse formula gifts and sponsorships

Let’s celebrate midwives and the support they can create 💕

29/07/2025

New product offering!

A New Mama Gift Pack - great for baby showers or as a gift to yourself after birth.

Save over 30% on the items if bought separately

https://www.cherishedparenting.com.au/online-store/New-Mama-Gift-Pack-p769996870

27/07/2025

*** FAQ Series ***

"I want to be prepared for when baby arrives - can I come do fl**ge sizing"

This is a very common question I'm asked, and the answer is unfortunately, no.

The BEST way to gauge your fl**ge sizing (as closely as possible) is to actually try different sizes - this means putting on the fl**ge and turning the pump on. I can then gauge how the ni**le looks in the fl**ge and the response with the milk flow - you can also gauge the feeling of it and we can try bigger or smaller based on what we both see and feel. (Pro tip - anyone who just measures, or eyeballs, without saying you are 'roughly' or 'should start with' xx size is probably not well experienced in fl**ge sizing - I continue to see so many people who say 'my midwife measure me at xx mm, and then we test them out and they actually need much smaller)

And during pregnancy, the main issue is that technically you should not use a pump*, but even if you could or did, sizing can change after birth due to hormones, fluid, and the actual milk volume increasing.

I absolutely understand wanting to be prepared and not wanting to leave the house only a few days or week after birth - so I do not say this just to be difficult, but to make sure you have the correct information.

I can maybe give you a rough estimate based on what it looks like, but as I said before, actually using the fl**ges gives the best results as you can then see how it all responds to the vacuum of the pump.

*Yes you might hear of some people using a pump to help induce labour and technically there might not be any huge risk, but because we do not have any safety/risk information on we technically need to say it is considered not safe - also keep in mind that the tissue response might change after birth, so even if you want to use a pump while pregnant your sizing pre birth vs post birth could be different.

For more information head to my website and look for 'Fl**ge sizing guide' (giving the direct link seems to be causing issues on here)

15/07/2025

✨ Appointments available from Tuesday 22nd ✨

I'm fully booked this week and early next, but spots are open from Tuesday 22nd onwards.

Here's how I can support you:
🤰🏼Pregnancy care in the comfort of your home
👶🏻Post birth check ups
😭 Latching difficulties – whether it's painful, baby seems as if they don't want to do it, or they're too sleepy to feed
🤱 Helping baby get more milk - navigating those tricky supply questions*
💼 Planning a return to work – maintaining your breastfeeding goals
🎯 Expressing – when, how, and what pump might suit you
👨‍👩‍👧 General parenting information

* Did you know that perceived low supply is one of the biggest reasons mothers stop breastfeeding? Yet 85–90% of women can make enough milk - in most cases, it’s not about something being “wrong” with your body, but about finding the right support and information.

📌 To book (Facebook isn't liking links at the moment) head to my Facebook business name at the top of this post and find my website link on the page or go to cherishedparenting dot com dot au, and tap the “Book Appt” button at the top.