The Birth Song Botanicals Blog

Breastfeeding After a Cesarean Section

Breastfeeding After a Cesarean Section

Breastfeeding after a caesarean birth, in many ways, is the same as breastfeeding after a vaginal birth. However, there are a few things you will want to be aware of, and perhaps a few things you may be concerned about. It is always best to prepare ahead of time, make sure you have the support that you need, and get all your resources in place so that you can be successful breastfeeding.


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Why Do I Have a Low Milk Supply?

Why Do I Have a Low Milk Supply?
Are you one of the millions of moms who wonder if you are making enough breastmilk for your baby? Being concerned about Low milk supply can keep you up at night and fill you with worry and doubt. In fact, if you actually have a low milk supply in some cases, it is devastating. One thing to keep in mind is that milk supply is not a stable constant amount: our supply ebbs and flows. Within the normal breastfeeding process, there are times at our supply peaks and times when it dips. This is normal and to be expected. On today's episode of Apothecary Wisdom, and in this post, we are exploring the top 11 reasons for low milk supply. Your low supply issue could be a temporary problem that will resolve itself naturally or be something you need to address immediately! Watch this video or read this post to find out! Continue reading

Breastfeeding and Sex

Breastfeeding and Sex

While there is nothing inherently wrong with appreciating the beauty of a woman’s body, this single focus can make things confusing when a woman breastfeeds. When you have only experienced your breasts as sexual, breastfeeding can lead to some conflicting feelings. 

 

There is a wide range of what is normal in terms of your sexuality after you have a baby. Some women do not feel the return of sexual desire for many months or even years after childbirth. Some women wait impatiently for their caregiver to give them the go-ahead to engage sexually again. No matter where you fall on this spectrum, sexuality will most likely become part of your life. If you and your partner have enjoyed your breasts as part of your sexual experience in the past, incorporating your lactating breasts into your sex life is a new experience that requires patience, clear communication, and a sense of humor.

 

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Healing Salve is the Best Natural Remedy for Bumps and Bruises

Healing Salve is the Best Natural Remedy for Bumps and Bruises

As soon as starts to get warm out, we are outside more and more every day. If your kids are like my son, they'll be coming in for dinner with a new scratch, bump, bruise, or bug bite every other night. What is a mama to do? Well, she needs to wash it off, kiss away the pain, and apply Healing Salve to each and every ouch.

Healing Salve can be applied to any place on your body from your elbows to your toes and everywhere in between The ingredients are so clean you could eat it! 

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How to Treat Clogged Milk Ducts and Prevent Mastitis.

How to Treat Clogged Milk Ducts and Prevent Mastitis.

We all know the many benefits of breastfeeding for us and our babies. If we all know how healthy breastfeeding is, why is it that 80% of moms start nursing right after birth, and by 3 months, only half are still nursing? Because breastfeeding challenges are real. They keep you up at night, and they hurt! Issues like poor latch, tongue tie, sore nipples, low milk supply, problems with infant weight gain, clogged ducts, and mastitis are painful. They can be incredibly discouraging, especially if the mother does not have a reliable support system to help her through difficult times. 

Today's post is about how to treat clogged milk ducts and prevent mastitis. I'll give you practical midwifery tips that encourage and support you to continue to breastfeed your baby.

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How to Heal Sore Nipples from Breastfeeding

How to Heal Sore Nipples from Breastfeeding

If you have sore, cracked nipples from breastfeeding, you know how bad nursing your baby can hurt! This might sound like an exaggeration to say it's one of the worst (physical) sensation a mom has to endure. You cringe every time baby latches, bracing for the sharp, radiating pain. You hold your breath as baby sleeps, knowing that her waking up means another painful nursing session. Even the most dedicated breastfeeding mom has had the fleeting thought that it's too hard. 

 

Today's post is about what is causing your nipple pain and how to treat it so you can keep breastfeeding like the rock star that you are!

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Breastfeeding Builds Babies Immune System and Prevents Illness

Breastfeeding Builds Babies Immune System and Prevents Illness
Did you know your baby receives antibodies and good bacteria (popularly referred to as probiotics) from you during pregnancy and birth? As you grow your sweet babe, you are also growing her gut, which makes up nearly 80% of her immune system.

According to current research, her immune system will continue developing until she is five or six years old. No wonder the World Health Organization recommends nursing “until two years and beyond!” The passing of antibodies from mother to baby does not stop at birth—breastmilk is full of them! Continue reading

Tips for Tandem Breastfeeding

Tips for Tandem Breastfeeding

On average, breastfeeding regulates postpartum menses and a return to fertility long enough that babies are often spaced a couple of years apart even without other forms of birth control. Of course, averages don’t mean a whole lot for individuals—all of our bodies are beautifully unique. But even when the average holds true, it’s common and even recommended to breastfeed well into toddlerhood. Chances are, there are many of you who have been or will be faced with the prospect of tandem breastfeeding.

Yet even though it makes perfect biological sense for one child’s breastfeeding journey to coincide with their sibling’s, it’s not often depicted or discussed. So when a mama becomes pregnant before baby weans, they’re often left wondering what to do. Rest assured, tandem nursing is well within that “range of normal” that we so often look to. Today, we’ll walk through some of the concerns, benefits, and struggles of tandem breastfeeding. You’re not alone—and your nursling doesn’t have to be, either!

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Best Baby Carriers for Breastfeeding

Best Baby Carriers for Breastfeeding
When you have the basics of breastfeeding down, you will be able to start exploring the option of nursing your baby in a baby carrier hands-free! Learning how to do this may take some time and patience. It is important to find the right kind of carrier for you and your baby, one that fits you both well. But once you have, it can be really wonderful. Continue reading

How Often Should I Breastfeed?

How Often Should I Breastfeed?
Knowing when to nurse your baby seems like it should be the easiest thing in the world. However, there are so many different recommendations out there about what to do - If you should schedule, if you should not, how long to nurse on each breast, how long to wait in between nursing sessions. It can all become very confusing. However, you and your baby are designed to work together in harmony. Trust that if you respond to your baby and trust your babies nursing cues, you and your baby will find your rhythm together. Continue reading
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