This video explains what the pelvic floor muscles are and why they're important to exercise in pregnancy.  For more info about Kegels and other important exercises for pregnancy and postpartum, take my 10-week Birth Boot Camp!

A new study shows how some very common labor medications affect newborn behavior in the first hour.  As the video below explains, there are 9 stages newborns go through after birth.  Perhaps you've seen videos of the "breast crawl", which show babies finding their mother's nipple with minimal help.  Keep in mind that these are unmedicated babies.  If a mother has an epidural or gets Pitocin to speed up labor (and very often she gets both), it goes to her baby and depresses either the instinct to breast crawl or the ability to do so.  The exposure to Pitocin and fentanyl was dose-dependent, meaning that the longer the mother had the epidural and/or the Pitocin the less likely it was for her baby to latch within the first hour. 

It is very clear from other studies that breastfeeding sooner leads to better breastfeeding outcomes and less cases of dangerous jaundice.  These relationships should be clearly explained and understood before labor, so that mothers know what they might be dealing with as a consequence of an intervention. 

Today, most breastfeeding women own a breast pump to get milk for their baby when they are away or in order to increase the amount they make.  If you're looking into pumps, here is a comprehensive guide to help you out. 

If I told you there was a FREE way to get milk that's even better than a pump, would you be interested?  Hand expression is using your own hands to get milk out, and it really works!  In our technology-dependent culture it seems as if most of us are more comfortable with a machine, but breasts often don't respond to plastic as well as we'd like.


Here's a video that shows why hand expression is so important, followed by exactly how to do it.  This one also gives instructions.

A study shows that of women who practiced hand expression, 96% were still breastfeeding at 2 months, while only 73% of mothers who pumped were still nursing.

Why would that be?  Probably more women stayed with nursing because hand expression helps them get more, thereby making it more worthwhile.  Women who hand expressed after a premature birth got 48% more milk than those who only pumped! 

If you need more help with breastfeeding, hand expression, or pumping hopefully you have a doula who can help you with your individual situation and goals.  If you need more help, a lactation consultant has expertise to help you keep breastfeeding going.