Midwife Moments- Placenta

Midwife Moments- Placenta

The placenta often referred to as the tree of life (see placenta art online) is indeed the baby’s source of nourishment and also carries away metabolic waste products. The placenta is an organ that is grown to support a pregnancy hormonally, nutritionally and...
A Look Inside- LINEA NIGRA

A Look Inside- LINEA NIGRA

“What causes linea nigra during pregnancy? Pregnancy hormones are behind the appearance of the linea nigra (Latin for “black line”). The condition is the darkening of your linea alba, the “white” or “colorless line” of skin you’d probably never...
A Look Inside- Inverted Nipples

A Look Inside- Inverted Nipples

Babies BREASTfeed, not NIPPLEfeed. As long as baby can pull enough of your breast into their mouth (baby’s mouth and gums should bypass the nipple entirely and latch on to the areola), most flat or inverted nipples shouldn’t interfere with breastfeeding. Some flat or...
Midwife Moments- Breathwork

Midwife Moments- Breathwork

 “I stubbed my toe yesterday and I automatically began to breathe slowly, long and hard, with almost in audible ‘ahhhhhhh’ which then changed to a ‘oooooh’ and another long, slow deep breath while I silently mutter ‘fuuuuuuuuuuuk’ followed by a high pitched ‘eeeeeee’...
Midwife Moments- Pain Relief

Midwife Moments- Pain Relief

Lets talk about pain relief in labor. This is a discussion that will not fit into one post, so we will talk about it in stages. Today we are gonna talk about your mind and pain. There is a difference between pain and suffering. Contractions are on average 60 seconds...
A Look Inside- Low Milk Supply

A Look Inside- Low Milk Supply

Whether it’s 3, 5, or 10% of the population, there are people that struggle to or never make a full milk supply. From 1 month to 1 year, exclusively breastfed babies average 25 oz of breast milk per day. True low supply means making less than this when the breasts are...
A Look Inside- Nipple Care

A Look Inside- Nipple Care

      Babies mouths have two areas: the hard, bony palate up front and the soft palate at the back, just in front of where that little hangy downy uvula is. One of the reasons a nipple erects, averts, and stretches is to help to get it in the safe zone where the...
MIDWIFE MOMENTS- EPIDURALS

MIDWIFE MOMENTS- EPIDURALS

Epidurals are not the bad guy, it’s in the how we use them that needs to change. I am a home birth Midwife and in my world epidurals are demonized to the point of pregnant people refusing them when they might be the best solution for intense pain that leads to...
Black Mothers Matter

Black Mothers Matter

Black women in the United States experience unacceptably poor maternal health outcomes, including disproportionately high rates of death related to pregnancy or childbirth. In 2015, more than 26 deaths were recorded per 100,000 pregnant people. This means that...
Midwife Moments- En Caul

Midwife Moments- En Caul

Today we talk about En-Caul birth.  Did you know that less than 1 in 80,000 babies are born with a caul?   En caul or “Call” babies are born with the amniotic sac still intact around the baby. These babies are considered “caul bearers” and are very special, and have...