This is a growing collection of links and videos regarding what you need to know about the postpartum stage, skin to skin and breastfeeding.
Image by Paula Modersohn-Becker
Postpartum:
There is surprisingly little information regarding what mothers can expect during the postpartum period. Here are some links that we did find to be helpful:
Survival For Moms - The Postpartum Period
Pregnancy to Childbirth - The Postpartum Period
A Time To Heal - A Look At Postpartum Recovery
A collection of lovely articles from Butterfly Birth on Postpartum
Identify your nipple type (regular, flat, inverted)
http://kellymom.com/ - Our #1 recommended site for all breastfeeding questions
We also highly recommend taking the breastfeeding class at baby beloved
Breastfeeding: The Fourth Trimester - {a Crowning Lotus Article}
A massive collection of wonderful videos of latching and general breastfeeding knowledge. Dr. Jack Newman
Great video on maximizing milk production when needing to pump for baby.
This is a White Blood Cell that is chasing bacteria....There are about a million of these per DROP of breast milk. CHECK IT OUT.
Article: Booby Traps - Common traps we fall into on our journey of nursing our babes.
A Collection Of Breastfeeding Videos - check out the "Featured" video.
A Site That Displays Breasts In A Non-Sexual Way As To Make Us More Comfortable With Our Own.
Breast Crawl Study - I saw this video at my DONA certification workshop and it moved me deeply. It really amazes me that these babies just know what they are doing right out of the womb. This particular video comes from a study done about women who had any combination of the following: A.) non-medicated births B.) medicated births C.) stayed with mom right after birth D.) Were taken away from mom to be cleaned up, weighed and measured. I don't think we talk enough about the after effect of the choices we make in the delivery room often enough. It's important for us to remember that a lot of the things women use as an "out" from the pain just postpone it until later - when there is a newborn to take care of. On top of this it absolutely effects the baby's alertness and ability to thrive independently (especially in nursing) in the first hours of life.
Kangaroo Mother Care {Skin To Skin}:
Kangaroo Care & Baby Wearing 101 - {A Crowning Lotus Article}
Kangaroo Mother Care: Skin To Skin Saves Newborn Lives.
Read more about the skin-to-skin benefits for ALL babies (full term and premature) at KangarooMotherCare.com
Mothers Skin To Skin Goodbye Brings Back 20 Oz. Baby
Holding a baby on one's chest, skin-to-skin, is referred to as Kangaroo Mother Care. However, it is a practice that all mammals participate in (just watch a cat with her new kittens or dog with her newborn puppies). Kangaroo Mother Care benefits ALL babies in several ways.
*KMC babies stabilize faster with skin-to-skin care than in an incubator (very few newborns stabilize well within an incubator during the first fragile hours of life).
*KMC babies have stable oxygen rates and breathing thanks to the steady regulation of mother's respiration.
*A KMC baby's heart rate is stable (mother's heartbeat regulates baby's heartbeat).
*A baby's temperature is most stable on his mother - in skin-to-skin care mother's chest automatically warms to warm a cold baby, while her core temperature drops if baby is too warm and needs to be cooled.
*Sleeping within an arm's reach of baby (as long as a parent does not smoke) also regulates all of his physiological needs in the same way ~ they are kept steady thanks to Mom's warm, even-paced body. We lose far fewer babies to prematurity, irregularity of breathing or heartbeat after birth, and SIDS all with the natural help of skin-to-skin holding, or Kangaroo Care.
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