Dr Jess Michaels

01/10/2025

An important repost from 👉🏻

🔄𝐓𝐇𝐄 “𝐓𝐎𝐏-𝐎𝐅𝐅” 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐏🔄
✦
Breastfeeding mothers often wonder if their baby is getting enough milk while nursing.
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Especially when their baby is nursing around the clock and it seems like they are never satisfied.
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This may alarm the parents and they begin to “top-off” their baby.
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This can begin a cycle that may ultimately lead your body to actually making less milk.
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Why?
Topping of leaves baby extra full
⬇️
Baby sleeps longer
⬇️
Baby nurses less
⬇️
Body is signaled to decrease milk
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Also, the amount of milk you can pump is not an indication of how much milk your baby is getting.......it’s an indication of how much you can pump. The pump should not be used as a measuring tool. It can lead to the parent being in distress if they are not able to pump lots of milk.
✦
Things to look for instead:
💕Baby gaining weight
💕Lots of p*e diapers
💕Poop diapers *babies who are nursed may p**p less often, refer back to looking for weight gain”
✦
Babies fuss for many reasons and it can feel like they are not satisfied while nursing but keep in mind that babies cluster feed for so many reasons and it is normal.
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Seek the help of your local lactation consultant if you need confirmation that your baby is doing well or indeed needs help.
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Your pediatrician is NOT your best bet for help in this area.
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-Love,
Flor Cruz
/ .like.a.badass

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

24/09/2025

NEWS FLASH

Newborns exclusively fed colostrum, the breast milk produced by mothers in the first three days after birth, are less likely to develop food allergies, according to a new study from The Kids Research Institute Australia.

24/09/2025

dropping the truth bombs yet again!

“Someone has to say it... epidurals are GREAT at reducing/removing pain from labour, but the payoff is that your physiology is interrupted 100% of the time.

I’m not against epidurals, but they do impact the function of your body.

Get the full story ep. 169 ”

24/09/2025

✨Breathe your way into birth✨

Did you know that an extended exhale isn’t just calming, it’s backed by evidence?

Research shows that lengthening your out-breath activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the “rest, digest and feed and breed” state.

✨ And this matters because birth unfolds best when your body feels safe, calm and supported.
✨ It’s a simple tool, but in labour it can help reduce tension, ease intensity and create the conditions for your uterus to do its amazing work.

💡 This technique works beautifully in early labour, when you still have the cognitive control to use breathing strategies consciously.

As you move into the intensity of active labour, your body and birth hormones will take over and that’s exactly how it’s meant to be. At that point you may not be able to think about your breath, but the groundwork you’ve laid earlier still supports you.

So next time you practise your breathing, try:

➡️ Inhale gently through your nose
➡️ Exhale slowly and fully (longer than your inhale)
➡️ Feel your body soften with each breath out

Your breath is always with you and in labour, it can become one of your most powerful allies. 💜

22/09/2025

HALF TIME.

18/09/2025

There, I fixed it for you

No one delivers a baby…

Mothers birth their babies.

Language matters and when we use language like this article,
we’ve erased the main character from the story.

✨She is the one who grew that baby.
✨She is the one who birthed that baby.
✨She is the hero of this story. 🩷

This needs to change.

14/08/2025

Some scary stats that are sadly not that surprising. The first three years are so important and yet as mothers (the primary care provider) we are stretched and pulled in all directions when we should simply be supported to just be with our baby.

09/07/2025

✨Finalist Announcement ✨

I’m beyond honoured (and still a little in shock) to share that I’m a finalist in the 2025 AusMumpreneur Awards, in not just one but two categories:
⚡️Emerging AusMumpreneur of the Year
⚡️People’s Choice - Making a Difference (Health & Wellbeing).

Truthfully, I never set out to become an entrepreneur… I didn’t even know what that word really meant. I just created something I knew women needed in their birth space and from that moment on, it all unfolded.

Since then, it’s been a wild, beautiful ride of nap-time hustle, late-night spreadsheets, teaching myself marketing, logistics, fulfilment, and product development (all while growing life, breastfeeding on demand, feeding to sleep, contact naps and juggling toddler negotiations 🤣).

I’ve worn every hat in this business and it’s all been driven by one thing: the deep belief that women deserve better support during birth.

To be recognised in these categories is such an honour not just for me, but for every woman who’s birthed in her power, trusted her instincts, or held a vision for change.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Jess x
❤️

28/06/2025

Things I would tell you about birth if I wasn’t afraid to offend you!

27/03/2025

24/01/2025

This is why I don’t recommend consuming the placenta ❤️

This has come up again and again in the last few months, so here is another rant 😉

Placenta consumption and milk supply:

I've been asked to share my thoughts on the links between placenta encapsulation (or just placenta consumption in any way) and milk supply, as the last few years has seen a large increase in the number of women who are looking into the benefits of consuming their own placenta. I've written briefly about this before, but it's time for a decent explanation.

I used to be really supportive of this idea. Now I'm not. My logic? There is an increasing trend towards more and more cases of unexplained low supply, and other professionals I have spoken with about this have begun to notice a connection between the possibility of low supply, and placenta consumption. And as I started to learn more and more about the intricacies of the hormones of breastfeeding and of pregnancy, this connection would completely make sense.

Get ready for your daily episode of I Told You Hormones were Fascinating!

The placenta releases a number of hormones, including progesterone and oestrogen. The release of the placenta after birth causes a huge drop in progesterone, which is the trigger that is required for milk production. This drop in progesterone causes a rise in prolactin, the hormone of milk production, and around three days later (average!), milk arrives. One of the first things that is checked with unexplained low milk supply is whether there are any fragments of placenta retained in the mum's uterus, which could have stopped that large drop in progesterone from occurring.

Oestrogen is another big hormone involved in pregnancy, is released by the placenta, and is also well-known to dramatically lower milk supply (hence why breastfeeding mothers are never advised to take any contraception with oestrogen). If a breastfeeding mama becomes pregnant, it's well-known that her milk will drastically decrease at a certain point due to the hormones being released by the placenta.

Of all of the hormones present in the placenta, progesterone and oestrogen are the only ones that are still present after the encapsulation process (though some women will consume it in different ways, this is the most common).

So. You give birth, your placenta is released, you have a huge shift in these hormones and milk production goes haywire. Yay! That's the plan! But what happens then when women start ingesting their placenta? Women are now reintroducing progesterone and oestrogen into their bodies; the exact hormones that the body needs to expel in order for milk production to establish.

From what I know, there are no studies exploring this. But I do know that there is a reason our placentas are expelled, we do understand about the shift in hormones, we do know there is an increasing number of women who are consuming placenta in one way or another, and we do know that there are many lactation consultants worldwide that are beginning to anecdotally notice the connection between this and their clients with unexplained low supply. So as much as I would suggest women stay away from all forms of hormonal contraception while breastfeeding if they want to ensure their supply is maintained, I certainly wouldn't be messing with eating my own placenta.

And in the interest of full disclosure, I did eat my placenta (cubed, frozen, swallowed like a tablet each morning), and I had chronic low supply, and I don’t truly know the cause still… though of course I have many theories 😉

07/06/2024

https://youtu.be/3KSeuKwdXqE

All the unique ways you can set up your birth sling. Available for purchase at www.thebirthsling.comThe Birth Sling is a new take on an ancient birthing tool...