Green and Bitchy: Lactation Counselor and Mom of Five

Green and Bitchy: Lactation Counselor and Mom of Five...An interesting blog to check out, especially if you deal with food allergies.

Vaginal Birth After 2 Cesareans…Comfortable with Hypnobabies!

Anyone curious about Hypnobabies? Here is a birth story.

Vaginal Birth After 2 Cesareans…Comfortable with Hypnobabies!

Sciatica Pain in Pregnancy

Sciatic nerve pain (sciatica) can be a big pain in the butt during pregnancy! This pain is caused by compression of the largest nerve in the body, the sciatic nerve, which works its way down through the hip joint, into the buttocks and down your leg. That means it goes right underneath the uterus. No wonder it can be a problem!

It can cause periodic or constant pain in your back and legs, and many say it is the worst type of lower back pain. Yuck! So what can you do to help relieve some of that pain so you can actually manage to function while waiting for that precious babe to arrive?

Here are some things that have worked for others. Mix and match to find the relief that is best for your own personal situation. (And always check with your medical provider, we are not here to provide medical advice, just help you access all the information possible.)

·         Because sitting can stress the lower back (and you probably have to sit at SOME point, if not often!), pay attention to where you are doing your sitting. Try swapping out that soft chair for a firmer one.

·         If you are able to spend time in bed, lie on the side opposite the pain with your knees bent.

·         Visiting the chiropractor may help. (We hear recommendations of chiropractic treatment for lots of issues during pregnancy – maybe you will have some other unintended benefits!)

·         Acupuncture – many local chiropractors provide this service

·         Heat or cold – try alternating them and see what seems to help

·         Get moving. This is the last thing you want to hear when your back hurts, but inactivity accentuates pain and causes weakening and shortening of connective tissues. Getting moving really can provide some relief! (Don’t take up running in your third trimester, though. How about a nice, gentle walk?)

·         Swimming! Speaking of exercise, swimming can be a great low-impact exercise during pregnancy. The weightlessness of being in water is said to provide spinal relief.

·         Try amber! Karli has some wonderful back strands that can really help when dealing with pain. If you aren’t familiar with amber for pain relief, check this out.

·         Talk to your prenatal care provider about using acetaminophen for pain.

 Does anyone have other methods that have worked for you? We’d love to hear them!

Eight Ways to Turn a Breech Baby

Are you concerned your baby might be breech? Here is a blog post from Birth Sense on what it means for a baby to be breech, and some ideas on turning baby.

Increasing milk supply

What can you do to increase your milk supply to continue nursing as long as YOU and BABY want to? Here is some of the best advice we have gathered.

Drink lots and water and get plenty of rest, of course, those are going to be key factors in keeping up with baby's milk supply. Nurse often - we recommend on demand - and be sure to offer both breasts at each feeding.

This is an awesome blog post on increasing mother's milk, shared by our friend Kate. She also shared a recipe on another blog for "Major Milk Makin Cookies," which we are going to have to try out!

Dr. Sears posted a note today on the Best Fats for Lactation, which may be of some help, too.

Fenugreek is often recommended, but apparently it makes you smell like maple syrup! While that certainly isn't all bad, it might get old!

This herb was suggested by another friend: Hormonal Changease.

Best of luck!

(Please note, we are not prescribing or recommending any herbal therapies - that is outside our scope of practice as doulas - but we are passing on information provided to us by others on our FB pages.)

Magnesium therapy for preeclempsia

Preeclampsia usually occurs in the late 2nd or 3rd trimesters or in the middle to late pregnancy. Patient may experience sudden elevated blood pressure and also have excess protein in the urine. Some of the more noticeable symptoms of Preeclampsia are:

• Swelling of the hands and face/eyes (edema)
• Weight gain of over 2 pounds per week or a sudden weight gain over a couple of days

We have found that more serious swelling in the feet and ankles is also a common symptom. Have you ever noticed your OB or midwife pressing their fingers against your shin or sort of "pinching" your ankle? They are likely checking for preeclempsia (among other issues).

Preeclempsia can feel pretty helpless, but you may be able to do something to control it ahead of time if you have risk factors. Check out this article outlining a study in the UK on the use of magnesium as a therapy/preventative measure.

Magnesium has other great benefits, too!

Top Five Health Benefits of Magnesium and Health Benefits of Magnesium are good sources on some of those. Crysta's husband and daughter take it daily to ward of eye twitching, and say they can definitely tell if they forget to take it.

Hypnobirthing

We have had lots of moms ask about Hypnobirthing and/or Hypnobabies. The concept is really interesting!

Recently we added this "cliff notes" version of Hypnobirthing to our bag of tricks, and we'd love to try it out at a prenatal visit. We haven't had the training and don't claim any expertise, but we're happy to work with moms to see if it is a good fit for you.

Stress in Pregnancy

"Don't stress" is what pregnant mothers hear but what if you have the kind of stress you can't pear down anymore? Here is some excellent advice from Mother's Advocate.

Vitamin D and expectant moms

Last weekend Justin and I were in Dallas for a conference, and while we were there, I sat in on a really interesting Nutrilite session, led by Dr. Chuck Dunham of Aspen Clinic in Minnesota. I was pretty excited when he spent the first half of the session discussing Vitamin D, because it has been on my radar screen for a few months now. I first read an article in a women’s magazine about a study linking it to weight loss, and thought it was worth a try.

This article talks about that study, which was done by the University of Minnesota.

Since coming across that study, though, I have read several more touting a list of other positives about Vitamin D. For pregnant moms it can be huge! (And helping expectant moms is way more fun than losing weight. Just ask my jeans.)

A Boston study analyzed the relationship between maternal vitamin D status and the prevalence of primary cesarean section, because one symptom of vitamin D deficiency is “poor muscular performance.” The study included 253 women, 43 of whom had had a primary cesarean. This small study showed that women with vitamin D deficiency had increased odds of having a primary caesarean section.

Here is a more scientific look at the actual study and data on the cesarean rate increase.

The folks at WebMD took a look at the study, as well, and offered some balance from an expert on the other side of the debate.

Even then, it was suggested that women who are more at risk – like those in Northern climates! – speak with their healthcare provider about taking a supplement.

Dr. Dunham had similar recommendation when he suggested everyone get tested to find their Vitamin D levels, then adjust your intake accordingly. This is a great way to approach anything, really! He said you’ll want to take the supplement for about three months in order to see a rise in your overall levels. Which would mean you should get tested, take a supplement for three weeks, then get tested again to see if you are on track.

But it doesn’t stop with that! Studies have linked Vitamin D to decreases in cancer risk, cardiovascular issues, and much, much more.

Here is a great piece linking it to recovery in multiple sclerosis patients:

If you’re reading the research and wondering, what’s the difference between Vitamin D2 and D3? That is a simple one. Vitamin D2 is the sort you will get from being out in the sun. Vitamin D3 is the form that comes from your diet. Both are metabolized in the same form by the body.

Interested in trying Vitamin D for yourself, but not sure where to start? This is the one I take (tiny, and completely natural, as are all Nutrilite supplements).  Disclaimer: We do profit from the purchase of that particular vitamin -- we're super happy if you take one anywhere, don't feel like that is the only option available!!!

With that said, check out the PDFs on the Nutrilite link for lots more information, too.

And, for those of you who want to know more than anyone ever dreamed of about Vitamin D, here is the data from the Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, including recommended daily allowances and much more.