Innate Birthing Services

02/07/2023

Register for the next Lamaze small group class series today!
register at yourinnatebirth.com

11/15/2022

09/02/2022

Important to know this as our understanding of infant feeding increases

I know some of y’all just LOVE your swaddles, this is not an attack. 🚨

Babies need their arms to feed well. I know their scratchy nails and little hands can be annoying and get in the way. But they use their hands and arms for balance and stability at the breast and to find the ni**le.

Wrapping up babies in blanket burritos dampens their feeding cues and can cause missed feedings.

This is ESPECIALLY worrisome in the early days and weeks when frequent milk removal is required to create your milk supply.

Your breasts are literally calibrating the milk volumes and when you miss feeding cues, it means LESS milk is going to be made.

Frequent/long swaddle sessions can cause babies to be underfed.

Babies should be gaining 1oz/day.

Babies who can’t use their startle reflexes as designed aren’t able to reduce their risk of SIDS.

They are literally designed to startle as a way to keep them alive.

Reconsider the swaddle.

Other ideas for ways ways to ensure your baby is safe and sleeping well can be found at Biologically Normal Infant & Toddler Sleep. 🖤🖤🖤

Let them use those arms! 😍

08/19/2022

Due dates can be really helpful in some ways, and a real pain in others.

And it’s important to realise what they can and can’t do.

Can they give us a rough idea of when a baby might be due?

Yes.

Is that helpful for planning, ordering the birth pool, arranging for childcare and to guide some of the care we might want during pregnancy?

Of course.

On the other hand, though…

A due date is not a 'best before' date.

It's not an expiration date.

It's a guess.

And research shows that only about 5% of babies (that’s one in twenty babies) are born on their due date.

So as I often say to expectant parents, plan to do something nice on your due date.

You’ve got a really good chance of being able to do it.

And it might help you remember that due dates are a guide, not a guarantee.

My website contains lots of information about normality, due dates and induction of labour.

I have also written two books about this: Inducing Labour: making informed decisions and In Your Own Time: how western medicine controls the start of labour and why this needs to stop.

Find out more at www.sarawickham.com/iol

08/13/2022

I’m often asked the question: “Do nursing parents need to pump in order to make enough milk?” The short answer is no. Effective breast pumps have been available for only about the past 70 years. Clearly humans have successfully nursed their babies for far longer. Also, how many of the thousand...

07/23/2022

Don't ever compare your milk stash to anyone else's. That way lies madness.

I have a great blog over how to start pumping and build a milk stash while breastfeeding. You should check it out on my website under blog!

Link below! 🔗

https://www.rachelobrienibclc.com/blog/how-to-start-pumping-and-build-a-milk-stash/

07/14/2022

Please sign up for my series for comprehensive education!

07/13/2022

This is the advice I give my clients also

Don’t fall into the trap of getting excited about the start of early labor…tiring yourself out trying to “get things going”…and then finding yourself completely exhausted and depleted by the time active labor rolls around.

🤰🤰🤰This is especially important for first labors and women who cope with prodromal labor.

Rest, relax, sleep, binge watch shows on Netflix. Whatever you do in early labor try to store up your energy for when you really need it.

SAVE this post as a reminder to rest early and often in labor.

Share the post with a friend who you think needs this friendly reminder.

Follow for more.

07/03/2022

Check out my new childbirth class offerings!

06/30/2022

Some food for thought

This topic keeps popping up. 'Big' babies seem to be everywhere.
https://midwifethinking.com/2019/09/02/big-babies-the-risk-of-care-provider-fear/

05/18/2022

A good reminder

In a world where we rush around and try to fit too much in, a baby’s ‘due date’ has come to be seen by some people as a kind of appointment.

Statistically, only 5% of babies are born on their due date.

That's one in twenty.

Some come earlier, and many healthy babies are born after this.

I sometimes suggest that people plan to do something nice on their baby’s due date; there’s a really high chance that you’ll be free to do it!

But the important thing to remember is that, on the whole, our bodies and our babies’ bodies know what they’re doing.

If you’d like more information about due dates, induction or birth in general, see www.sarawickham.com/iol

Yes, feel free to repost. We just ask that you keep the original pic, words and credit intact and don’t put Sara’s words into your own branding 💜

05/17/2022

I love this perspective

“They told you about the contractions, but did they tell you about the expansion? Did they tell you how your body would open to make way for the whole universe to pass through? Did they tell you how your heart would explode with a love bigger than anything you’ve ever known as you pulled your baby to your chest? They told you about the ring of fire but did they tell you about the crown of stars? Did they mention that there’s a moment when your baby enters the world and you leave your body and touch the heavens and become the light of a million galaxies? Did they tell you how the pain of stretching to receive your child would be more exsquisite than any sensation you’ve felt? They told you would scream but did they tell you about how you would roar? Did they tell you about the power that would rise up from your belly as you called your baby forth with your mighty voice? Did they tell you how you would embody the wild woman within you and breathe fire with your song? They told you would bleed, but did they tell you how that sacred blood wouldn’t scare you? How you would feel grateful for that magical liquid of life as it trickled down your leg- how you would honor its flow and how it would help you heal a lifetime of hating your body’s bleeding cycles.
They told these stories and taught you to fear birth, to fear your power, to fear yourself. But you’re stronger and wiser than that mama. You know that birth is your divine dance, your soul’s song, your moment with God, and you walk fearlessly into her open arms.” 📝🎨

04/23/2022

I still have availability for birth doula clients over the Summer
June : 1 spot
July :2 spots
August: 2 spots

Please reach out if you are interested in doula services

02/11/2022

Inclined sleepers like the Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play have been called "deadly" by the AAP, but many parents continue to use the recalled products. Here's everything you need to know about the risky baby gear.

01/31/2022

01/27/2022

If any former doula clients of mine would be so kind as to leave a review of my services I would very much appreciate it. As I relaunch under a different business name it would be very helpful. Thanks!