Gracelaced Mama Doula

07/18/2023

Calling Coweta & Fayette County area Breastfeeding/Pumping Moms!

* Come celebrate your breastfeeding journey with us!

* Saturday, August 5th - 10-12p

* Healthy Lifestyle Network - 145 Governors Square A, PTC GA

* Light refreshments provided

* Hear from local mother/baby providers who can help you in your journey!

* Nurslings welcome!

02/14/2023

This mama ROCKED her labor and delivery! Welcome earth side, sweet Clara! Just look at that head full of hair 🥰 and peep her signing “I love you” during her first nursing sesh!

01/22/2023

Umbilical cord art makes the perfect keepsake!

12/23/2022

Sweet boy made his appearance right before Christmas! All 10lbs 9oz of him 🥰
Mama & baby are doing great, nursing like a champ and staying cozy!

08/31/2022

Today we celebrate our little guy turning ONE! In honor of that, I wanted to share my birth story again.

https://stephaniecphotography.com/2021/09/16/home-water-birth-a-family-centered-birth/?fbclid=IwAR3rfPYkbUdvM02xieQZfmMbpkvdXVXruOoipHHHbShE7piPl4uKnGKobvU

What an incredible home water birth in Concord, GA. These four big sisters helped welcome their beautiful baby brother during this family-centered birth.

08/19/2022

*This need has been taken care of, thank you everyone!*

Breast milk donation needed in Pike County! Mamas, if you live in or around Pike and have some extra breast milk to donate for a mama in need, please let me know.

08/18/2022

08/18/2022

Client meetings to go over some birth plan ideas. Her husband renamed all these birth positions and it made me crack up 😂

08/03/2022

07/23/2022

Informed consent never looks or sounds like something already in motion. Huge red flag. True informed consent takes hold of the concepts of a conversation. One that explains risks and benefits, leaves room for questions and time to consider, and then the decision is up to the client. With the choice of No being a full one.
What have you experienced?

07/11/2022

We have a baby! This Mama ROCKED her labor and delivery! Everyone meet sweet Stellan! He is absolutely perfect and peep those arteries in his umbilical cord and how clear it is from delayed cord clamping 💙

*posted with permission*

06/24/2022

If you are looking for a birth class, Angela is amazing!

Did you know that approximately 10-12% of epidurals placed during active labor don’t work or partially work?

Even if your birth plan involves getting an epidural for pressure (pain) management, it may not work.

It’s always good to be educated on LOTS of pressure relief methods.

Taking a birth class is a great thing for everyone!

Source:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2505163/

05/15/2022

A bit of science for you today...

There are two mechanisms at work in a full breast which slow down milk production:

One is that there is a whey protein in breastmilk called Feedback Inhibitor of Lactation (FIL for short!) This protein slows milk production. So the higher the volume of milk in the breast, the higher the level of FIL and the more milk production is slowed.

The other is that when a breast is full, the walls of the milk producing cells get stretched. These cell walls contain receptor sites that prolactin (the milk making hormone) enter and trigger milk production. However, when stretched, prolactin can't enter and milk production slows down.

So keeping breasts 'empty' is the best way to speed up milk production. This can be done by ensuring that baby has an effective latch and is fed responsively (not to a set schedule or for set lengths of time). If for any reason baby is unable to be fed, expressing can help to ensure that breasts are kept 'empty'.

Note the use of inverted commas in the last paragraph - the breast is never fully emptied during a feed or pumping session and will be continually making more milk.

04/21/2022

IMPORTANCE OF FOLIC ACID BEFORE AND DURING PREGNANCY

1. During early development, folic acid helps form the neural tube.

2. Neural tube defects are severe congenital disabilities that affect the spine, spinal cord, or brain and may cause death.

3. Folic acid is essential because it can help prevent some significant congenital disabilities of the baby's brain (anencephaly) and spine (spina bifida).

4. There have been some studies that suggest folic acid may increase the likelihood of conceiving multiples.

5. These studies are not large scales and have not been confirmed as scientific facts. However, Folate supplementation before conception has been associated with a greater chance of getting pregnant and improved success with fertility treatments.

6. Women preparing to conceive are advised to take 400 micrograms of folic acid tablets daily and until after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

7. Natural sources of folic include broccoli, brussels sprouts, leafy green vegetables, including cabbage, kale, spring greens, and spinach, peas, chickpeas, and kidney beans, liver (BUT AVOID THIS DURING PREGNANCY), breakfast cereals, fortified with folic acid.

8. The liver, while rich with folic, should be avoided in pregnancy because it contains high levels of retinol, which is a type of vitamin A.

9. Too much or high levels of the retinol form of vitamin A can build up in the body and may be harmful to the unborn baby.