Helen Marshall, Nurse and Kraamverzorgende, Lactation Specialist

10/08/2020

Can’t breastfeed yet because your baby is premature? There are many obstacles put in the way of breastfeeding premature babies. The attached photo shows a premature baby born at 28 weeks gestation and breastfeeding at the age of 10 days.

25/01/2020

How to help your baby self soothe..

You Don't!

Babies can not talk or verbalize what they need. Their only means of communication is fussying and crying. All they know is their mother

Us adults wake up for many reasons too; only difference is we know how to meet our needs.

- if you wake up because you’re thirsty, you drink water

- If you wake up because you're partner is gone and you don’t have anyone to cuddle with, you'll probably buy one of those big pillows and cuddle with that or you'll bring your pet into the bed

-If you wake up because you had a panic attack or a nightmare, you'll probably want your partner to comfort you and even hold you!

-If you wake up because you're cold, you'll probably want some body heat, or you'll grab an extra blanket.

We would never tell an adult to just fuss it out and not meet their need. So why are we expecting BABIES, of all people, to self soothe!?!

You as the parent can meet your baby's needs. So let’s stop telling moms their baby should self soothe, and sleep through the night, especially at such a young age! (12hrs by 12 weeks🤯😢😱) Stop setting moms up for additional stress and guilt! When you know what newborn behavior is like (frequently waking up at night), it can take away that mom guilt feeling. You're not doing anything wrong mama.

Now if you’ve done self soothing techniques and that works for you, that’s fine. This message is not to make you feel bad, but it’s to normalize night feeds and the baby’s desire to be with their mom at night, because that is the norm.

06/12/2019

04/09/2019

The pitcher method! ⁣
⁣
Every time I talk about the pitcher method, about half of the people think it sounds awesome and the other half think it sounds like way more work.⁣
⁣
If you're in the latter group, no worries! There is no benefit outside of making life easier, so if it doesn't do that for you, then don't do it. 😊⁣
⁣
But we have lots of moms in the FB group who use and LOVE the pitcher method for storing their breast milk. ⁣
⁣
What is the pitcher method? ⁣
⁣
Basically, after you pump, you allow the pumped breastmilk to cool and then dump it in a pitcher or other large container in the refrigerator. At the end of the day, you prep the next day's bottles, and freeze any extra milk.⁣
⁣
The benefits of the pitcher method are that it can take up less room in your fridge and simplifies storage (no wondering what day you pumped a given bottle of milk in the fridge, forgetting to freeze milk before it's too late, etc.)⁣
⁣
Have you tried the pitcher method? Did you like it?

06/07/2019

Clogged ducts can happen for a variety of reasons, which include improper latch, improper breast drainage, skipped feedings, timed nursing sessions, pressure on your breasts from a tight bra, or sleeping on your stomach, to even stress and diet.

In addition to treating the breastfeeding issue, you’ll also want to take a look at your diet, and even stress. Start incorporating: .
✅Avocados, nuts/seeds, olive oil, which contain polyunsaturated fats. These fats help with inflammation and the “stickiness” of the milk🥑🥜. .
✅Hydration - breastfeeding requires additional fluids, so when you’re dehydrated your chances of clogged ducts increases. An easy way to remember is when baby nurses, you drink. .
✅Sunflower lecithin like from acts as an emulsifier and decreases the “stickiness” of the fat, which in turn, removes the clogged duct. The recommendation is to take 1200mg 3-4x/day for 1-2 weeks with no blockage, then taper off by reducing one capsule/day for one week. If you continue to have recurrent clog ducts, you might want to continue taking sunflower lecithin 1-2x/day. .
✅Vitamin C (either supplement or vitamin C rich foods like citrus fruits, cantaloupe, bell peppers, tomatoes etc) has been found to help with recurrent clog ducts by boosting the immune system and helping with inflammation 🍓🌶🍅🍊🍋. .
In addition to these diet changes, make sure to reduce your stress, and get adequate rest. Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, which all help strengthen your immune system.🍎🥬🥑🍅🥝🥦
Being a lactation consultant and a dietitian, I can help assess your diet as well as assess how breastfeeding is going to see WHY you’re having clogged ducts.
Have you had recurrent clogged ducts? Did you make any diet changes?

06/07/2019

Placenta consumption and milk supply: Some thoughts.

I've been asked once again 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. Just a reminder that these are simply my own thoughts and experiences, and yours may well be different, and that's ok!

I used to be really supportive of this idea. I used to think it was awesome! Now I don't. 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.

Progesterone: 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: This is a major hormone of 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, her milk often reduces dramatically or even entirely ceases at a certain point due to the hormones being released by the placenta.

Progesterone and oestrogen 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.

There are not enough studies being done on truly unexplained low supply. There is still so much we don't know. 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 and revealing my bias, I did eat my placenta (cubed, frozen, swallowed like a tablet each morning), and I had chronic low supply. I didn't consume my placenta with my second, and also had chronic low supply.

19/06/2019

Clinical symptoms are only rarely validated by the gold-standard reflux test in babies, a new clinical study shows. Gastric reflux is common in infants because the band of muscle, or sphincter, that squeezes the top opening of the stomach shut, does not yet close at full strength, especially in prem...

10/06/2019

Do you know the benefits for both mother and baby by having an undisturbed first hour after birth? Here are 7 massive benefits worth considering.

24/04/2019

Een mutsje na de geboorte; is het nodig of heeft het zelfs negatieve gevolgen in sommige situaties? Het natuurlijke instinct van een moeder is om aan haar kind te ruiken en een muts vormt een barriere waardoor oxytocine niet vrij kan stromen zoals het hoort te doen. Lees hier meer.

08/04/2019

Don't let our sleep training culture sabotage your relationship with your child. Nighttime parenting is about so much more than sleep, here's why.

19/01/2019

The size of your breasts can also change how you help your baby latch. This mother has larger breasts. She uses her hand to support her breast to make it easier for her baby to latch.

15/01/2019

Being a new parent can be one of the biggest, scariest responsibilities you will ever take on. Growing a whole new tiny person and keeping them alive can be anxiety inducing even for the most laid back. Am I holding them ok? Why are they crying? Am I doing any of this right?

05/01/2019

A mother’s breast storage capacity refers to the maximum volume of milk available to her baby when her breast is at its fullest. Unrelated to breast size, breast storage capacity is determined by the amount of room in her milk-making glandular tissue. Breast size is determined primarily by the amount of fatty tissue (Geddes, 2007).

The maximum volume of milk in the breasts each day can vary greatly among mothers. Two studies found a breast storage capacity range among its mothers of 74 to 606 g (2.6 to 20.5 oz.) per breast (Daly, Owens, & Hartmann, 1993; Kent et al., 2006). The mother with the largest breast storage capacity accumulated up to 90% of her baby’s daily milk intake in both breasts, while the one with the smallest storage capacity accumulated in both breasts only 20% of her baby’s daily milk intake.

Breast storage capacity affects how long it takes for mother’s breast to become full. For example, a woman with a small storage capacity may become so full with 2.5 ounces (75 mL) of milk in her breasts that her rate of milk production slows. However, in a woman with a larger breast storage capacity this same 2.5 ounces (75 mL) would not cause milk production to slow. This larger-capacity mother could, therefore, go for longer periods between feedings without her rate of milk production slowing.

It’s vital to note that although breast storage capacity can affect feeding patterns, it does not affect a mother’s overall ability to produce ample milk for her baby. One study found that all of its babies whose mothers had a small storage capacity had healthy weight gains (Kent et al., 2006). To consume the same amount of milk as other babies, however, on average these babies breastfed more times each day.

Depending on her breast storage capacity, a mother’s Magic Number (number of daily milk removals needed to keep milk production stable) may be as few as 3, 4 or 5 or as many as 10, 11, or 12. But when a mother’s total number of milk removals (breastfeedings plus milk expressions) dips below her Magic Number, her rate of milk production slows.

16/11/2018