With You All The Way

18/03/2023

Q:What comes before Mother’s Day?
A:Sheelah Na Gig Day of course, when the Irish honoured the fertility of women!

Happy day

– In the old Celtic calendar, today is Sheelah’s Day.

In the old Celtic calendar, today is Sheelah’s Day. In ancient Ireland, it was an annual festival to honour the fertility Goddess known as Sheela-na-gig. Naked Sheela-na-gig figures appeared in Irish churches constructed before the 16th century, but most were defaced or destroyed during the prudish Victorian age.

Read more 🔗 https://wp.me/p3XCMr-yVK

06/03/2023

Superb letter from The Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine and the EHTPA on the safety and efficacy of taking during your to increase successful pregnancy and live birth rates




https://rchm.co.uk/-pages/statement-chm-and-ivf?fbclid=IwAR2HrFYKlm0Cy3VLXjGPLpX_SaUa7D39gPz2L4rpMNBjy5n1gg0362kjhLw

We are writing this letter as the Chief Executive of the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine (RCHM), the leading voluntary regulator of Chinese Herbal Medicine practitioners in the UK, and as the President of the European Herbal and Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (EHTPA), an umbrella...

08/02/2023

❤️This little angel was just a line on his mum’s positive pregnancy test after successful fertility treatment last time I knew of him🤰🏽

I’ve had such a hard day at work 😃

26/01/2023

One of my very favourite things for a patient to bring to me - hello baby!

This mamma had and persisted with treatment - resulting in the rise of her and as you can see - successful pregnancy!
And this mamma to be conceived via - didn’t make it back to the !

19/09/2022

Postpartum care matters.
Hold the mother, not the baby ❤️

Hold the mother, not the baby.⁣
⁣
Because the baby’s being taken care of—⁣
fed, snuggled, and given all the love in the world—⁣
by not only the mother,⁣
but her partner, grandparents, siblings, cousins, and friends.⁣
⁣
But the mother,⁣
may have gaps in her mind from lack of sleep,⁣
may be mechanical in her motions as she’s healing,⁣
may feel more like a mess than a mother,⁣
may be sitting in bed, crying, feeling overwhelmed in her body and life,⁣
may be full of mom guilt because in her mind, "she's not good enough,"⁣
and she’s bleeding, wincing in pain, swollen and emotional.⁣
⁣
And the mother’s that baby's whole world and needs to be seen, so she doesn't disappear into that postpartum fog.⁣
⁣
So, hold the mother, not the baby.⁣
⁣
A mother agrees that her baby matters more.⁣
But she’s hurting, while she’s the person behind the baby,⁣
in the background, making it all happen:⁣
feeding her baby at all hours,⁣
snuggling her baby close to comfort newborn cries,⁣
and being that baby’s everything.⁣
⁣
So, it’s the mother who needs your love.⁣
⁣
And a mother will remember who held her up.⁣
⁣
So instead of “I’m coming to see the baby,”⁣
try saying, “I’m coming to see you 𝘢𝘯𝘥 meet the baby, too.”⁣
⁣
Because the mother needs to be held more.⁣

📸: This Mama Doodles
Words by: Living FULL

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Repost Living FULL

19/09/2022

Useful Review of the evidence supporting the turning of Breech babies to cephalic position using 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

“Moxibustion and acupuncture are included in the (UK) 2017 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG) Green-top Guidelines for ECV and Reducing the Incidence of Term Breech Presentation (10). This document represents the first time that these methods of treatment have been included as a clinical guideline by a major professional organization within the field of Obstetrics. The guidelines cite both the 2012 Cochrane Review and the 2013 Vas et al. study and recommend that pregnant people may wish to consider the use of moxibustion at 33-35 weeks gestation. The recommendation also cites that acupuncture combined with moxibustion may further reduce the number of cesarean sections and emphasizes the importance of choosing a trained practitioner when seeking out this type of treatment.”

Please note that a fully trained Acupuncturist will also assess any other reasons that baby may be in malpresentation and treat the individual mother the provide safe and effective treatment of

It was such an honor to work on this research summary with Susan of . The full summary is here: https://www.nychi-acupuncture.com/topic/moxa-for-breech-presentation/
We hope this piece will be used by pregnant people, birth workers and healthcare providers to help spread the word and the growing evidence about this low risk intervention!

From the summary…
Breech (feet first) position in the latter part of the third trimester of pregnancy is uncommon, but can prevent the possibility of a vaginal birth. In the United States, standard of care in breech term pregnancy is planned cesarean section, with over 90% of breech babies at term in 2019 being born via cesarean birth (1). While only 3-4% of pregnancies are breech at term (2), this small percentage represents thousands of cesarean births each year. Planned cesarean birth due to malposition carries risk, can significantly affect the pregnant person if they had hopes for a vaginal birth, impacts maternal outcomes including postpartum recovery and adds costs to the healthcare system as a whole. It is to the benefit of both pregnant people and hospitals to have a range of corrective options to help babies turn cephalic (head down) prior to planning a cesarean birth.

09/09/2022

Sharing to inspire all those women planning for a home birth- and especially a VBAC.
You can do it, reach out and get the support that makes you know that it’s possible!

Good enough for a Queen.
Queen Elizabeth after her fourth homebirth.
…
Her Majesty was the first royal woman to have her husband accompany her at childbirth when she welcomed her fourth child Prince Edward with Prince Philip present.
…
"The Queen, by then aged 37, had asked him to be there; she'd been keenly reading women's magazines that stressed the importance of involving fathers in childbirth and had become fascinated by the idea. Thus Philip became the first royal father in modern history to witness the birth of his child.”
….
Like her mother, the Queen gave birth to her first child, Prince Charles, at home via caesarean, after a 30 hour labor, but went on to have three VBACs although with scopolamine.
…
Eventually Charles was born by a Caesarean section in a music room in Buckingham Palace which had been converted into a theatre. She was attended by Obstetricians Sir William Gilliatt and Sir John Peel, and also midwife Helen Rowe, who was thought to be present for all the births. Caesarean sections were also less common in the general public at that time; in the 1950s only around 3% were caesarean section. It would have been of some concern that the Queen required one.
…

The midwife Helen Rowe was known to be present as letters written to her by the Queen were discovered after her death. There is an irony in this as, in 1970, Sir John Peel, the queen’s obstetrician, was lead author of the report “Domiciliary midwifery and maternity bed needs”, which recommended 100% of births should be in a hospital.
…

There have been considerable changes that have taken place in maternity services since the births of the Queen’s children. The accessibility of research and information is only one thing! The Queen, in all her experiences as a woman and mother in the role, has paved the way for royal births to be different and opened the door for many of her subjects to challenge the status quo at the time. The importance of looking back in history to see how we have got to where we are should not be overlooked and I challenge others to investigate history of our profession over the past 70 years.
…
From Dr Jenny Hall

https://www.maternityandmidwifery.co.uk/queen-elizabeths-royal-births-transforming-the-monarchy/

19/07/2022

For all New Mothers out there 💕
Reach out and ask for some help
with however small the thing might be, whether it’s baby number 1, 2 or 3 /4/or 5

It can be tough 💕

“Can I come to see your baby?”
Words that caused my heart to sink
For, of course I want to see you,
But I’m weary and I stink.

It’s been days since I got dressed
and there’s chaos everywhere.
Dirty dishes overflowing,
and there’s breast milk in my hair.

I’m really in survival mode.
I can’t tell the nights from days.
My life has been uprooted
in oh so many ways.

My head feels like exploding
and I’m trying to just BE.
Yes, I’ve gained this new addition,
but I’ve lost a piece of ME.

A new love has engulfed me
and transformed my every being:
A love that, all at once,
is so constricting, and so freeing.

So, please, dear ones, I ask of you
to just give me some time
to navigate this new terrain
that’s really so sublime.

And, soon, I’ll have you visit:
I can’t wait for you to meet.
But, right now all I can manage
is to feed, sleep, and repeat.

Maria Tempany (Therhymingone)
Image by - https://www.instagram.com/arynlindsey

🍂🍁 For support in your gentle parenting journey, pick up a copy of our gorgeous autumn issue which is out now!. Grab your copy from supermarkets throughout NZ and newsagents throughout Australia! To find your local stockist, or to subscribe, visit https://linktr.ee/TheNaturalParentMagazine 🍂🍁

06/07/2022

Oh all of this needed saying.

04/07/2022

The menstrual cycle- a palette of hormones that create optimal functioning for but not necessarily is every day the best for a woman’s mood, arriving at work on time, making emotionally based financial decisions, or exercise!

How does understand the and ?

It regulates hormones, blood and qi flow, gives the uterus and ovaries what they need in each phase to , and maintain .

Using charting to track your cycles, and a detailed understanding of TCM we map your symptoms and individual response to each phase, trouble shooting and fixing tour cycle to precision with and .

For the idea that you can forecast 'good' and 'bad' times each month for every activity, from booking holidays to a dental appointment, is catching on.

20/06/2022

Post semen analysis
Worth taking this into consideration if s***m concentration is low

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/andr.13209?fbclid=IwAR0Y40tneC8Mse6X5KJ1qXfhOEfFBvmRxPzn2qDF2wZUsyLPUw-tJUlFID0&fs=e&s=cl

Background The development of covid-19 vaccinations represents a notable scientific achievement. Nevertheless, concerns have been raised regarding their possible detrimental impact on male fertility...

21/05/2022

I love how this describes birth as a yin as well as a yang process ☯️

One powers the other as the waves rise to bring baby from mother to earth side.

Having supported many births,this is one of births greatest secrets. The Sweetness of surrender.

The yin…

…Where the power floods back through release

The non doing …
The allowing…
The knowing ❤️

Here’s why I don’t use the word contraction - it’s only part of the story. The sensations you feel during labor that allow your baby to pass thru the birth canal, thru your pelvis, and into this world are the muscles of your uterus tightening + releasing.

Hold your fist out, tighten it into a ball, and then release, allowing the muscles of your hand to relax completely - that is a ‘contraction’.

Contracting is only half the story. And, in a way, it’s the easier half because your body contracts on its own - it’s the relaxation half that most of us find it hard to tap into. When in pain our instinct is to tighten up, squeeze, hold our breath and scrunch our face and clench our jaw - but, during labor, it is being asked of us to do the opposite: breathe deeply, relax our face, jaw, and tongue, and bring release to our pelvic muscles thru movement and vibration. To relax thru pain is not instinctual, and something that I encourage all mamas to practice.

Rather than focusing on contracting what else can we call them? Waves, surges, and rushes are words that more accurately describe the push and pull of labor, and encourage mama to ebb and flow with the sensation. To close her eyes, feel the rise, breathe thru the build, sway and moan with the peak, and then gently and lovingly move thru the release.

Although changing the name of the experience will not take the pain of labor away - I do believe it helps put mama in the right frame of mind to navigate each rush (my ‘word’ of choice). And, if you’ve labored before, you know that frame of mind is an essential piece of the puzzle for bringing baby earthside!

Want to keep the conversation going and receive more support? Sign up to be notified when my course The Mama Pathway, a complete pregnancy, birth, and new mama experience, opens up!

📸 PhotoCred:

03/04/2022

FREE resource!
A great opportunity for my patients.

This book by my colleague is defintely worth a read to gain insight to how Chinese Medicine and views the

👇👇👇👇
For only 24 hours, download the FREE Kindle version of My Fertility Guide

My Fertility Guide: How To Get Pregnant Naturally eBook : D'Alberto, Attilio: Amazon.co.uk: Books

27/03/2022

Thinking of all my patients whom today is difficult for, who are eating right, BBT charting, trying to work less, stress less, weigh less, who are having weekly acupuncture, taking daily herbs, those who are in IVF, those whose babies didn't make it last time, those who have to keep telling stories to well meaning folk about how they 'may have one one day but we arent planning anything just yet', those looking for a suitable s***m donor, fertility clinic, birth partner...
..those who are in the early pregnancy unit, awaiting a scan to see all is ok, hanging over the toilet 5 times a day and eating nothing but crackers, those who are writing birth plans...

Those who are waiting for labour to begin, avoiding induction at all costs after the last time, those who plan a VBAC, C section, home birth or hospital birth...

Those who breastfeed against all the odds, those who are single mums and manage to somehow feed their kids and tidy the house and occasionally comb their own hair and find a babysitter, those who have postnatal depression, those who want to return to a career and have another child and are torn...

Those who mourn what they gave up to be a mother and sacrifice daily
Those who blaze a trail in the the world as a mother and feel guilty they don't do more home cooking , those whose kids are in hospital and those whose kids will never see adulthood due to illness...

Those whose mothers have brought them suffering, and those whose mothers bring them joy and inspiration...

Those who have asked me to join them on their journey to help them become mothers in fertility treatment, be it natural conception or IVF, to be at their birth as a doula...

To my own mother, who gave me my life and nurtured me and continues to do so after all these years..

This Mothers Day, I'm thinking of you all.❤

21/03/2022

On the importance of the development of the infant microbiome and ongoing childhood immunity:
Great summary- full text "The human gut microbiome harbors a diverse range of microbes that play a fundamental role in the health and well-being of their host. The early-life microbiome has a major influence on human development and long-term health. Perinatal factors such as maternal nutrition, antibiotic use, gestational age and mode of delivery influence the initial colonization, development, and function of the neonatal gut microbiome. The perturbed early-life gut microbiome predisposes infants to diseases in early and later life. Understanding how perinatal factors guide and shape the composition of the early-life microbiome is essential to improving infant health. The following review provides a synopsis of perinatal factors with the most decisive influences on initial microbial colonization of the infant gut.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=494971662200348&set=a.221036516260532

Great summary - full text of this scientific paper available- see below "The human gut microbiome harbors a diverse range of microbes that play a fundamental role in the health and well-being of their host. The early-life microbiome has a major influence on human development and long-term health. Perinatal factors such as maternal nutrition, antibiotic use, gestational age and mode of delivery influence the initial colonization, development, and function of the neonatal gut microbiome. The perturbed early-life gut microbiome predisposes infants to diseases in early and later life. Understanding how perinatal factors guide and shape the composition of the early-life microbiome is essential to improving infant health. The following review provides a synopsis of perinatal factors with the most decisive influences on initial microbial colonization of the infant gut. https://oaepublish.com/mrr/article/view/4644

03/03/2022

Let it flow!
It's your babies blood

When I was first attending births in 1984, the obstetric model was to cut the umbilical cord immediately after birth and take the baby away for evaluation and a first bath. This was based on the belief that placental blood flow would increase birth complications for babies.

Even back then, we midwives knew to do it differently - we waited until the placenta stopped pulsating - 10 or more minutes -- before clamping and cutting the cord. Baby’s did great, placentas came out readily, and all was good - even if our methods were considered silly by doctors.

Times change, science has caught up. The midwives were right. We now know that immediate cord cutting, unless there’s a medical emergency that requires it, is not recommended. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now recommends a delay in umbilical cord clamping for at least 30–60 seconds, and the WHO recommends 2-3 minutes.

The benefits of waiting include:
❣️ Transfer to baby immunoglobulins and stem cells, essential for tissue and organ repair
❣️ Extra iron, which has been shown to prevent iron deficiency in the first year of life
❣️ Possibly reduced risk of hemorrhage and easier placental delivery for mom

While jaundice can develop from delayed cord cutting due to this influx of blood, this type of jaundice is not usually a medical problem. Baby will naturally clear this excess iron with pooping. Your midwife or pediatrician will keep an eye on baby over the first few days to make sure it’s clearing. However, the benefits of delayed cord cutting are more beneficial for baby than the risk of this jaundice.

Unfortunately, immediate cord clamping/cutting are still common practice in hospitals. You have to let your midwife or doctor know that you want to wait, with baby tummy to tummy on you, while you do. I recommend bringing this up with your care provider in advance to ensure that they are on board to do ‘delayed cord clamping and cutting’. Get specific with exactly how long you want baby to be connected to the placenta. Unsure how to advocate for yourself? Want guidance on pregnancy, birth, and newborn care? Join the Mama Pathway for all the support you need to be in the know. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ideservebirthsupport/

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02/03/2022

What is one of the most common reasons patients see me in clinic to help conceive? Endometriosis.

RCHM member Andrew Flower PhD translated 144 studies on the Chinese Medicine treatment of endometriosis in preparation for this Cochrane review. Two randomised control trials on the safety and effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine for endometriosis-related pain and infertility were included in it. Cochrane reviews are internationally recognised as being the highest standard of evidence-based healthcare studies. Whilst more rigorous research is required to accurately assess the potential for Chinese herbal medicine in such conditions, the review concluded it had comparable effectiveness, with fewer side-effects, to gestrinone, a medication used in the treatment of endometriosis. To see the research follow the link to our website: https://rchm.co.uk/getting-to-the-root/getting-to-the-root-of-endometriosis-research

Our Getting To The Route campaign, highlighting Endometriosis Awareness Month, is proud to share relevant research into how Chinese herbal medicine can support people with endometriosis.

Firstly we bring RCHM member Dr Andrew Flower’s Cochrane review, which concluded that CHM had comparable effectiveness, with fewer side-effects, to gestrinone, a medication used in the treatment of endometriosis. To read more follow the link to our website: https://rchm.co.uk/getting-to-the-root/getting-to-the-root-of-endometriosis-research

19/02/2022

It's always a pleasure to treat a presentation in !