Return of the Blog

How time flies! I can hardly believe I have been a student midwife for several months now. I have learned so much, and had so many great experiences with my midwives and fellow students.

On the home scene, the chickens are laying like mad, so we have lots of delicious fresh organic eggs. Nothing quite like them, and they come in such pretty colors - brown and cream, shades of blue and green, and even some white ones.

I am taking doula clients again after some time off, but only about one per month. Please contact me if you are interested in meeting me to talk about your birth - I'm open from June on out!

The Sanctuary

I recently joined the staff of The Sanctuary Birth and Wellness Center as a student midwife, so my time has been busier and time to write more scarce. If you are considering an out-of-hospital birth, come check us out!

Breastfeeding

I was at a training session for public health employees and volunteers yesterday, focused on breastfeeding support and information. It was amazing to me how many of the women there, who worked in a prenatal clinic and most of whom had children of their own, knew so little about breastfeeding.

In California last year, 86.6% of mothers initiated breastfeeding, but only 25.7% were exclusively breastfeeding at six months, and California has the highest numbers of all 50 states! The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding up to six months, with continued breastfeeding supplemented with other foods up to two years. These numbers tell me that our hospital practices have gotten much better - more Baby Friendly hospitals, more rooming in, less formula pushing - but as a whole, our society is still not very supportive of nursing moms, especially as they go back to work.

Sources:
World Health Organization: Breastfeeding
CDC Breastfeeding Report Card