Drug Free Birth

  Infants and Toddlers:  Do naps matter? PositiveParentingNews.org  asks parents if their children are cranky, fussy, or whiny, and write that "your child may be much better after a nap, which helps with emotional memory and the regulation of emotions."

  Infancy:  The benefits of breastfeeding, even for only a few days   American Heart Association has reported  that babies who are breastfed, even for a few days, had lower blood pressure at 3 years old than children who had never been breastfed.  

  Pregnancy: High quality diets in pregnancy   Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's  annual meeting will unveil findings that suggest that a high-quality diet in pregnancy is associated with a lower risk of fetal growth restriction, and will also release impact on gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes and other factors. In addition,  University of Colorado researchers suggest  that mothers who eat more veggies during pregnancy generally have children who eat more veggies than their peers.

  When the doctor brings up augmentation   Augmenting (speeding up/ initiating) labor is a discussion that is bound to happen between doctors and families in a high percent of pregnancies and labors, whether it is at weeks 38/39 or during early or active labor.   Sweeping membranes  (separating the amniotic sac from the uterine wall) or breaking the waters to speed labor may be suggested.  The use of oxytocin to initiate or stimulate contractions is quite common as well, but is  found to increase Cesarean rates .  BioMedCentral.com's 2022  article on labor dystocia  ('slow labor') concludes that a healthy respect of mothers with slower labors is key, and that doctors generally shouldn't augment with oxytocin because of the increase of Cesare an rates.     My encouragement is that families read about these trends and options well before they are in late pregnancy so that they know what kinds of questions to ask should they be encouraged to speed up their labors.  Also, d

  What the baby formula shortage demonstrates   Aside from the speculation of why there is a  US baby formula shortage , or what should be done about it, I do read the stories and am grateful that so many families choose breastfeeding.  I'm a mother who has supplemented with formula for all three of our children, but who also breastfed exclusively first with each child.  No matter what is to come in the supply of manufactured baby formula in the US, it is my hope that families will press in to master breastfeeding, to ask for help and resources when they need it, and to encourage others to prioritize it as well.  If you are a parent who is in need of formula, or support in any aspect of feeding your baby, please reach out! 

  Penn State researchers   have found that once trained in healthy sleep patterns for their babies, couples' second children also slept better.   Some of their conclusions are: establish a regular, consistent bedtime instead of keeping Baby awake in hopes that she will sleep longer in the morning putting Baby to bed while drowsy but still awake helps them soothe themselves nighttime soothing techniques might look different than daytime techniques