From the WBWC Blog:

Month: May 2017

Onyx Coston’s Birth Story

By Deja Nicole I’ve always wanted to be a mother. When I reached my twenties, it became something that I put in the back of my mind in order to achieve my academic goals as well as finding a career. Now approaching thirty, I started to question whether I would conceive sooner than later. In June of 2016, after noticing some unusual weight gain, I found out that we were pregnant. Although it took both my partner and me by surprise, it was a moment we both celebrated immediately. My thoughts swirled. What would we name him or her? Am I ready to be a mom? Would I want a girl or a boy? We contemplated what our new life would be like with a sweet addition to the love we already had. One thing was for sure, I wanted a completely natural birth. I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of epidurals and hospitals never feel welcoming. I wanted this new soul to arrive in the world as peacefully and calmly as possible. I wanted an atmosphere of love and positivity, not continuous prodding and beeping. Women’s Birth & Wellness Center offered us that and more. Time started to fly by. Month after month we would watch our baby grow in my belly and before we knew it, February had come and we were expecting a little girl. I had a few Braxton Hicks during due date week but nothing to shout from the rooftops. As the day approached I became more and more anxious. 40 weeks came and went and although dad was patient, I was starting to feel tired and nervous. Four days past baby’s due date I was ready to try anything I could to get this show on the road. My partner Jamar and I decided to get up that morning and take a walk around the lake hoping it would get something going. After our walk we stopped for breakfast before returning home. Jamar was going to work that day so I planned on doing some work at home. As soon as he left for work, I started to feel strange. Soon after I felt the first wave that labor had begun. From that point everything happened so fast. Within the hour my contraction went from every eleven minutes to every six. I knew it was time to go. I first called my doula … Read More

Claire’s No-Bake Strawberry Pie

Crust: 1 sleeve graham crackers, crushed 1/4 cup wheat germ 1/3 cup coconut oil (can substitute butter) 1/4 cup sugar Filling: 1/4 cup pure maple syrup 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese (reduced-fat optional) 5 cups of sliced strawberries (reserving 1 cup, can substitute or mix with other in-season berries) Juice of 1/2 lemon 1/4 cup sugar 2 tblspns cornstarch mixed with 2 tblspns water Mix the crust ingredients with a fork in a large bowl (or pulse in cuisinart). Pat crust down into a pie plate. Blend the maple syrup and cream cheese until smooth and pour over the crust. Chill for about an hour in the fridge while preparing strawberries. Reserve about a cup of the sliced strawberries, and place remaining 4 cups into a pot with the lemon juice and sugar. Cook on med or med-low for about 10 minutes and bring to boil. Quickly mix in the water-cornstarch mix until it thickens. Take the pot off the stove and cool to room temperature. Spread the reserved cup of uncooked fresh strawberries on top of the cream cheese and then pour the cooked strawberry mix on top. Chill at least an hour (can be made a day ahead of serving.) Serve with whipped cream. Recipe courtesy of Claire Caprioli

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month

By Nancy Albrecht, RN, BSN, IBCLC Do you know a pregnant or new mama? Ask her how she is doing, how she is really doing. LISTEN to what she says: no matter how many people you think are supporting her, there are often way too few who ask and listen. Everyone wants to know how the baby is: how baby is growing and moving or how baby is sleeping, eating, pooping, etc???. Nobody is asking mom if she’s getting rest; if she’s eating regularly; if she gets to take a shower when she needs or wants to. Ask her how much she slept last night. Ask her what she ate today. Ask her if she is okay. Be prepared if she says NO. During May, Maternal Mental Health Awareness month, we want all families to know that mood disorders in pregnancy and postpartum are real, unintentional, and treatable. Women of every culture, age, income level and race can develop symptoms during pregnancy or the first 12 months after childbirth. Baby blues may affect most new moms, but the blues are mild, brief, and last less than 2 weeks. 1 in 7 mothers experience depression or anxiety during pregnancy or postpartum: severe symptoms that persist longer than 2 weeks. Symptoms may include feeling sad, angry, or confused, having extreme anxiety or scary thoughts, feeling overwhelmed, hopeless, or guilty, having difficulty bonding with the baby, having lack of interest in usual activities, or having thoughts of hurting yourself or those around you. The most common time when new moms recognize postpartum depression or anxiety is when the baby is three to four months old. If you or a new mom that you know are having trouble coping with the transition to pregnancy or motherhood, please ask for help. Treatment is available and most women recover fully with treatment.  A 3-point approach works best for most women: individual therapy, medical evaluation with medication, if needed or desired, and a support group. WBWC offers a support group, Coping with Motherhood, on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month, 10:30 am – Noon. It’s mother-to-mother support, facilitated by Nancy Albrecht RN, MA, IBCLC. Coping with Motherhood is free and confidential for any pregnant woman or new mother who is struggling with a perinatal mood difficulty. Email Nancy at nancy@ncbirthcenter.org if you have any concerns or questions about your mood or the group. Other resources … Read More

MILC Moment: The Growth Chart Puzzle

By Rebecca Costello, IBCLC We sometimes hear from parents concerned that their breastfed children’s growth “slowing down” around 4 months – the baby’s weight percentile dropping and the baby slipping down the growth curve. Sometimes these concerns are accurate – but sometimes they are not! Why?? The fact is, some medical offices still use growth charts developed in 1977, based on a small sample of babies in Ohio who were primarily formula fed. Similarly, even the 2000 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) growth charts are based on a sample of mixed breast/formula feeders. Formula fed babies grow more slowly than breastfed babies in their first few months of life, then begin to grow more quickly than breastfed babies. When we chart breastfed babies on the formula fed growth chart, it makes breastfed babies look nice and high on the chart for the first few months, and then start to look like they are faltering. What does it look like when breastfed babies are tracked on charts that accurately reflect their growth? To do that, the newest World Health Organization (WHO) growth charts are a far better choice than any of he CDC charts. The WHO charts are based on a worldwide sample of infants who received optimal breastfeeding and complementary feeding. This article from the Journal of Nutrition does an excellent job of discussing some of the differences between the CDC and WHO growth charts. They have several great illustrations as well to help you visualize how the growth charts differ: This chart shows the difference between weight-for-age curves in boys ages 0-60 months. You can see how around 4-6 months, the CDC chart line crosses over the WHO line and generally stays above – sometimes quite high above – the WHO line up through age 5. This chart is even better, which shows how an average infant from the WHO sample would track on each chart. A baby who tracks normally on the WHO chart (staying fairly even in growth after an initial drop) looks very different on the CDC chart: after an initial rise the baby appears to slowly fall down the growth curve from the age of 2 months on. The CDC formally recommends that all clinicians switch to the new WHO growth charts for ALL infants and toddlers up to 2 years of age. (Note that this means not just breastfed babies – the CDC recognizes … Read More