MaMa Mentoring; pregnancy thru preschool

10/15/2025

Scientific research on the limits of human endurance confirms that pregnancy is one of the most demanding metabolic feats possible, as the sustained energy required to grow a baby over nine months forces the mother's body to operate at an elevated rate of approximately 2.2 times her resting metabolic rate—a level nearly equivalent to the physical ceiling sustained by elite endurance athletes, such as those running a marathon per day for several weeks. This comparison underscores the sheer, continuous intensity of pregnancy, highlighting it as the longest and one of the highest energy-expenditure events the human body can endure.

10/11/2025

I am the keeper.

I am the keeper of schedules. Of practices, games, and lessons. Of projects, parties, and dinners. Of appointments and homework assignments.

I am the keeper of information. Who needs food 5 minutes before a meltdown occurs and who needs space when he gets angry. Whether there are clean clothes, whether bills are paid, and whether we are out of milk.

I am the keeper of solutions. Of bandaids and sewing kits and snacks in my purse. But also of emotional balms and metaphorical security blankets.

I am the keeper of preferences. Of likes and dislikes. Of nightly rituals and food aversions.

I am the keeper of reminders. To be kind, to pick up their trash, to do their dishes, to do their homework, to hold open doors and write thank you notes.

I am the keeper of rituals and memories. Of pumpkin patches and Easter egg hunts. I am the taker of pictures, the collector of special ornaments, and the writer of letters.

I am the keeper of emotional security. The repository of comfort, the navigator of bad moods, the holder of secrets and the soother of fears.

I am the keeper of the peace. The mediator of fights, the arbiter of disputes, the facilitator of language, the handler of differing personalities.

I am the keeper of worry. Theirs and my own.

I am the keeper of the good and the bad, the big and the small, the beautiful and the hard.

Most of the time, the weight of these things I keep resembles the upper elements on the periodic table - lighter than air, buoying me with a sense of purpose.

But sometimes the weight of the things I keep pulls me down below the surface until I am kicking and struggling to break the surface and gasp for breath.

Because these things I keep are constantly flickering in the back of my brain, waiting to be forgotten. They scatter my thoughts and keep me awake long past my bedtime.

Because all these things I keep are invisible, intangible. They go unnoticed and unacknowledged until they are missed. They are not graded or peer reviewed or ruled on by a court. And sometimes they are taken for granted.

My husband and my boys are kind and generous and they love me hard. And this is by far the greatest job I have ever had. But sometimes being the Keeper is exhausting. Because you feel like you're doing it alone.

So to all of you who are keepers, I see you.

I know the weight of the things you keep.

I know the invisible work you do, which doesn't come with a pay check or sick leave, is what makes the world go round.

I see you.

And I salute you.

Shared with permission from Lucky Orange Pants

10/08/2025

Fascinating.

Male embryos prioritize growth, female embryos focus on immunity – starting from day seven.

At Cornell University, researchers discovered that s*x differences appear astonishingly early: just 7 days after fertilization. That’s before the body forms organs, before hormones like testosterone or estrogen — before life has even taken shape.

By analyzing RNA in cow embryos (a close match to human development), the team found that males and females follow entirely different genetic “blueprints.”

Male embryos activated genes linked to energy metabolism, giving them fuel to divide faster and grow more quickly. On the other hand, female embryos prioritized genes tied to immune system development and reproductive pathways.

These aren’t subtle shifts – they’re fundamental divergences in how life unfolds. And they may help explain why men and women experience diseases differently later in life, from Alzheimer’s to heart disease.

For medicine, the implications are huge. Most lab studies and drug trials have relied heavily on male animals, ignoring early s*x-based biology. That blind spot may have left gaps in treatment effectiveness – especially for women.

For IVF, the research could help doctors improve embryo selection and boost success rates. And for agriculture, it may make cattle breeding more efficient.

The bigger story? Our chromosomes are shaping health and aging long before birth – encoding differences that ripple through an entire lifetime.

Learn more:
"Sex-biased transcriptome in in vitro produced bovine early embryos." Cell & Bioscience, 27 August 2025.

09/30/2025

Loving the annual Gold Lactation Tongue Tie Symposium. This year they are focusing on how to tell which kids actually need to be released versus those that can be helped through skillful lactation support and bodywork which is right up my alley. Also great info on how to be sure those babies that DO need releases are adequately prepared for release along with their families. This is a great learning opportunity for all breastfeeding professionals, peer supporters, doulas, midwives, pediatricians, dentists, ENTs, OTs, SLPs, and bodyworkers.

Every year, the GOLD Tongue-Tie Online Symposium invites hand-selected researchers and clinicians in the field of infant oral restrictions to present on current and emerging evidence-based education. We're proud to offer you a full spectrum of tongue-tie education.

09/28/2025

Normalize breastfeeding immediately after cesarean birth. Every dyad deserves to have their first latch within the first moments after birth the way we were designed.

09/26/2025

Let's talk Tylenol.
It's important when pregnant to do the best you can to limit your risk of exposure to all chemicals. It is also important when pregnant to limit exposing your baby to fever. It's important to talk to your health care provider if you are sick during pregnancy. It is important to know if your family metabolizes substances differently than most people or if you or other family members are on the Autism spectrum.

It is important to understand what studies say and the relative merits of different studies. In other words, what makes 1 study better to listen to than another. What or who was included or excluded and why? How large or how long was the study? Small studies should lead to larger studies to see if the results of the small study remain true. There have been a variety of types and sizes of studies on Tylenol done in different countries by different researchers not affiliated with drug companies over several years. They have used different methodologies. They have come up with different answers on potential ties between Tylenol use in pregnancy and Autism. This researcher explains.

09/26/2025

Latest calendar.

09/25/2025

Mothers are amazing.

Send a message to learn more

09/07/2025

What was your Foley balloon experience like?

No one warned me how brutal the Foley balloon would be.

I thought I was ready for induction.
I thought I had a high pain tolerance.
I thought I knew what to expect…

I. Was. Wrong.

Laying there, gripping the bed rails, trying to breathe through it while my whole body fought against every second of it, it was nothing like they said.

Not “just pressure.”
Not “a little discomfort.”
Not “mild cramping.”

It was pain. Real, intense, overwhelming pain.
And nobody talks about it.

And the worst part? You’re expected to push through because it’s supposed to “help”, but in that moment, it feels anything but helpful.

To every mama who’s been through it, you’re stronger than you know.
To anyone about to go through it, it’s okay to say it hurts.
Because it does.

©️Caty Sanders

08/23/2025

The birth preparation classes he held were gathering pregnant couples together around a piano at the birth center and singing.

08/23/2025

By Katherine J. Wu

08/22/2025

More good news for moms that are able to breastfeed.

Study links breastfeeding to long-term heart health benefits for mothers
by Liz Bonis, WKRC Wed, August 20th 2025

"CINCINNATI (WKRC) — A new study released today highlights the long-term health benefits of breastfeeding for mothers, suggesting it may reduce the risk of heart attacks even decades later.

The research, conducted by a team at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine, found that women who breastfeed, particularly those diagnosed with diabetes during pregnancy, may lower their risk of certain heart concerns.
Dr. Elizabeth Arleo, a breastfeeding advocate and author of the upcoming book "Bye Bye Mama's Milk," emphasized the study's significance. "A stronger immune system, decreased childhood infections and many others," she said, listing the benefits of breastfeeding for babies. Arleo, who breastfed all three of her children, said this study adds to her reasons for supporting breastfeeding.

Dr. Kartik Venkatesh, the senior author of the study and a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Ohio State University, explained the findings. "That breastfeeding has a powerful impact on decreasing your risk of having a heart attack, stroke and this impact is decades after you are postpartum and pregnant," he said.

The study analyzed the predicted risk for heart problems in more than 4,500 women at both 10 and 30 years after delivery. Researchers discovered that the lifetime risk of cardiovascular complications is lower in those who breastfeed compared to those who do not.

Dr. Venkatesh suggested that the breastfeeding mechanism itself might be responsible for these benefits. "With regard to inflammation, oxidative stress, your lipids or fat cells in your body, they are all being positively impacted through breastfeeding," he said.

Even short-term breastfeeding may offer significant health benefits, according to the study."

Reference:
Obstet Gynecol 2025 May 22;146(1):11-18. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005943.
Association Between Breastfeeding and Long-Term Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Christine Field 1, William A Grobman, Jiqiang Wu, Anna Palatnik, Mark B Landon, Denise Scholtens, William Lowe, Nilay S Shah, Jami Josefson, Sadiya Khan, Kartik K Venkatesh
Affiliations Expand
PMID: 40408182 PMCID: PMC12178817 (available on 2026-05-22) DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005943
Abstract
Objective: To estimate whether breastfeeding is associated with the estimated risk of long-term atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and whether this association varies with prior gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis from the prospective HAPO (Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome) Follow-Up Study. The exposure was any breastfeeding (yes or no). The primary outcomes, measured 10-14 years after delivery with the Framingham Risk Score, were estimated ASCVD risk (composite of fatal and nonfatal coronary heart disease and stroke) over the subsequent 10- and 30-year time periods. Multivariable linear regression models were used and adjusted for baseline pregnancy covariates: field center, age, body mass index (BMI), height, smoking and alcohol use, parity, and time from delivery to ASCVD risk assessment. Secondarily, we examined whether the association between breastfeeding and ASCVD varied by GDM status (effect modification).

Results: Of 4,540 individuals, the median age was 30.6 years at baseline. More than three-fourths (79.7%) reported breastfeeding, which did not vary by GDM status (79.5% vs 81.0%). At 10-14 years after delivery (median 11.6 years), individuals who breastfed had a lower estimated risk of ASCVD over the subsequent 10 years (2.3% vs 2.5%, adjusted β -0.13, 95% CI, -0.25 to -0.02) and 30 years (6.2% vs 6.9%, adjusted β -0.36, 95% CI, -0.66 and -0.05). The association between breastfeeding and estimated ASCVD risk varied significantly by GDM status: The protective effect of breastfeeding was greater for individuals with GDM for estimated 10-year ASCVD risk (GDM: adjusted β -0.52, 95% CI, -0.98 and -0.05; no GDM: adjusted β -0.09, 95% CI, -0.20 and -0.02; interaction P =.004) and 30-year ASCVD risk (GDM: adjusted β -1.33, 95% CI, -2.53 and -0.14; no GDM: adjusted β -0.25, 95% CI, -0.54 and 0.03; interaction P =.003).

Conclusion: Breastfeeding, particularly after an individual had GDM, was associated with a lower estimated risk of long-term ASCVD. These findings indicate the potential benefit of breastfeeding for long-term cardiovascular health, especially among those with GDM.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40408182/

https://local12.com/health/health-updates/study-links-breastfeeding-to-long-term-heart-health-benefits-for-mothers