MamaCare - HypnoBirthing, Birth & Postpartum Doula

05/31/2023

11 Factors that Influence the chance of having twins - an interesting and fun read!

#11 makes sense, and is "considered one of the reasons for the increase in the rate of twin births in the USA over that of the UK."

(On a side note - also of the reasons to consume organic dairy or avoid it altogether).
https://curejoy.com/content/chances-of-getting-pregnant-with-twins/?fbclid=IwAR1S148dm3Pxh9uTliZ7qsBDRlFYlPyUj_bgityM5LqvpojrfKN1crXs_Ss

Looking for ways to get pregnant with twins? Here is a low down on 11 factors that affect your chances of having twins - your genes, age, ethnicity, family history, and more!

11/26/2022

If you have a midwife, I always suggest attending one of their home birth info sessions, as well as the Toronto Birth Centre - if it's a feasible option geographically. We need more of these!!

It's a fantastic centre, mimicking a home setting but with any extra equipment you could imagine for active labour and birthing. Check it out!

Even if you're planning a hospital birth it's great to know your options. Most parents are completely surprised to find out how much is available to them in these other scenarios - which are more conducive to a low or no intervention birth.
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TBC is hosting another virtual tour this month and it's FREE to attend! Come check out our beautiful, culturally safe space, and get your questions answered!
It will be on Wed, Nov 23rd at 12 PM EST.

To register, please follow the link below:

https://forms.office.com/r/mTjUFpL4sf

11/05/2022

Who else was loving the fog?!

It's so magical. And feels like a cozy blanket over the city -warming, with moisture filled air (which my skin, hair, and nasal passages love:)

The sounds are muted and it kind of feels like everything is suspended in time.... just hang'in.

It always reminds me of a beautiful moment I experienced when I first moved to Toronto from Winnipeg, back in 1987. I was taking in the city one evening, walking down Bloor St W near Bathurst St, when a heavy fog descended. I couldn't see more then 5 feet in front of me. The street sounds were hushed, there was little traffic, and all I could hear was a beautiful, bluesy, sultry, saxophone being played on a street corner in the distance ahead ...the notes lingering in the air - as I walked into the unknown. It was just one of those moments of heightened presence that you never forget. 🎷🎶💖

Photo credit: Aidan Samuels
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10/23/2022

Did you know about cell migration from baby to mother? Mom grows baby, baby helps mom. And the cells remain with mom. Always fascinating. 💕

“When pregnant, the cells of the baby migrate into the mothers bloodstream and then circle back into the baby, it’s called “fetal-maternal microchimerism”.⁠

For 41 weeks, the cells circulate and merge backwards and forwards, and after the baby is born, many of these cells stay in the mother’s body, leaving a permanent imprint in the mothers tissues, bones, brain, and skin, and often stay there for decades. Every single child a mother has afterwards will leave a similar imprint on her body, too.

Even if a pregnancy doesn't go to full term or if you have an abortion, these cells still migrate into your bloodstream.

Research has shown that if a mother's heart is injured, fetal cells will rush to the site of the injury and change into different types of cells that specialize in mending the heart.

The baby helps repair the mother, while the mother builds the baby.

How cool is that?

This is often why certain illnesses vanish while pregnant.

It’s incredible how mothers bodies protect the baby at all costs, and the baby protects & rebuilds the mother back - so that the baby can develop safely and survive.

Think about crazy cravings for a moment. What was the mother deficient in that the baby made them crave?

Studies have also shown cells from a fetus in a mothers brain 18 years after she gave birth. How amazing is that?”

If you’re a mom you know how you can intuitively feel your child even when they are not there….Well, now there is scientific proof that moms carry them for years and years even after they have given birth to them.

I find this to be so very beautiful.

08/25/2022

A major study published in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) found that babies born at home vs a hospital are equally safe. Plus there are benefits to mom with a planned homebirth such as reduced interventions, including a 30% reduction in C-sections. Something to consider for low risk pregnancies.

This video provides information and a client's perspective on the option of birthing at home in Ontario with midwives. It includes information about how midw...

05/08/2022

Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers, to all women who mother, and to Mother Nature and the divine feminine energy from which she flows. 💗

- Artist Brian Kirhagis, Earth 6
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05/08/2022

Do you know the history of Mothers' Day?
"Mothers’ Day was not designed to encourage people to be nice to their mothers. It was part of women’s effort to gain power to change modern society. ..She called for a “festival which should be observed as mothers’ day, and which should be devoted to the advocacy of peace doctrines”...

Happy Mothers' Day - to all the voices that still need to be heard after all these years. 🌸☮️ ❤️

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04/07/2022

Yes - every birthing person should be aware that IV fluids effect baby's newborn weight, and can often lead to unnecessary pressure to supplement breastmilk with formula.

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Everyone should have this information. 👇🏼
This way, if you choose to have IV fluids and or need them, newborn weight and loss/gain can account for this in the first weeks.
In 2011 a team of Canadian researchers published a study which linked routine IV fluids with excessive weight loss in newborns. The study concluded that it takes about 24 hours for babies to correct their fluid state and therefore a true birth weight should be done at 24 hours. Here's the issue with with weighing baby at birth with a mother who received IV fluids: those fluids not only over saturate the mother (throwing her into an electrolyte imbalance), but this same thing happens to baby!
So let's say you had the typical hospital birth..labored for 12 hours with fluids being pumped into you the entire time. Baby is born weighing 8lbs 8oz. You go to your 3 day postpartum checkup and baby is down to 7lbs 5oz! Well..thats over a whole pound lost. The provider you see suddenly encourages you to supplement with formula because your baby is losing too much weight. You wonder how could this be...youve been nursing round the clock, changed plenty of wet diapers. How could this happen? .
You spent months researching breastfeeding and all its benefits for it to come down to this?..and at only 3 days postpartum! You feel like you've failed, but you fear that your baby is starving. So what do you do? You supplement...with formula. Next your milk supply drops because you're not bringing baby to the breast, but rather to the bottle. Before you know it you have an exclusively formula fed baby. .
This scenario is SO common, and I believe receiving IV fluids in labor is a HUGE part of the problem. As if the obstetric community hasn't failed women enough..now their "harmless" interventions caused you to lose all confidence in your ability to feed & nourish your baby from your breasts. .
So what can you do???
1. STAY OUT OF THE SYSTEM!
2. Say NO to routine IV fluids
3. Bring this study to attention if this happens to you
4. Continue nursing your baby. Bring baby to breast as first solution when she cries
5. Nurse in demand NOT on schedule



Edited to add:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1948093/

References:
https://internationalbreastfeedingjournal.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1746-4358-6-9

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3174114/pdf/1746-4358-6-9.pdf

https://www.nfaap.org/sso/sso.aspx?nfredirect=https%3A%2F%2Fpediatrics.aappublications.org%2Fcontent%2F127%2F1%2Fe171.abstract%3Fsso%3D1%26sso_redirect_count%3D2%26nfstatus%3D401%26nftoken%3D00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000%26nfstatusdescription%3DERROR%253A%2520No%2520local%2520token&no-redirect

The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine put this as well in one of its 2017 protocols.
https://abm.memberclicks.net/assets/DOCUMENTS/PROTOCOLS/3-supplementation-protocol-english.pdf

https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2011/08/15/study-shows-link-between-maternal-iv-fluids-and-weight-loss-in-newborns/

Good info form evidence based birth.
https://evidencebasedbirth.com/iv-fluids-during-labor/

03/23/2022

Look what can happen when we get out of our own way! What a sweet example of the body finding its way once we stop. And RELAX into it. This is a key component to how we can have an instinctive and easier labour.

Prepare by becoming informed and learning tools to get our of your own way with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

02/12/2022

"What if I was to tell you that a game of peek-a-boo could change the world?" asks seven-year-old Molly Wright, one of the youngest-ever TED speakers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aISXCw0Pi94
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"What if I was to tell you that a game of peek-a-boo could change the world?" asks seven-year-old Molly Wright, one of the youngest-ever TED speakers. Breaki...

01/03/2022

So true! To birth instinctively, like all other female mammals - we need to change our birthing environment.

Find out how to change your mindset and navigate your birthing environment for an easier labour and birth.
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09/17/2021

Just as your body knows how to grow a baby - it also knows how to birth a baby!

❓ What has disconnected us from this innate birthing wisdom.
❓ What are the obstacles and challenges in today's birthing environment/industry.
❓ How can we get ourselves out of the way.

✔️Find out. Become empowered with knowledge, tools & confidence.

▶️Next HypnoBirthing Class series starts Saturdays SEPTEMBER 25
🤰Can be taken anytime from your 2nd trimester on.

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