Four Lakes Doula Care

22/04/2023

Oh my god you guys with

15/06/2022

I completed my breastfeeding counsellor training with CBI. A brilliant in-depth course.

Childbirth International offers an internationally recognized Lactation Counselor training that exceeds the IBLCE’s requirement for 90-hours of lactation-specific education. The course focuses on three pillars of skills and competencies: communication skills, lactation physiology knowledge and understanding, and counseling skills. Through reflective assignments, case studies, and practical support hours, you’ll build a strong foundation of knowledge, understanding, and skills as a CBI-trained Lactation Counselor.

[Image Description: an infographic about Childbirth International’s Lactation Counselor training that reads, “Lactation Counselor training that is comprehensive, internationally recognized, and qualifies towards the IBCLC's required 90 hours of lactation-specific education” with a picture of a newborn being cup-fed]

19/05/2022

The new National Standards for Infant Feeding is a major milestone for Irish families. Once implemented, mothers should have access to same level of support regardless where they have their baby.


"Infant feeding is a highly emotive subject because so many families have not breastfed in the past or have experienced trauma in trying to breastfeed or stopping sooner than they expected to. The pain felt by some families around not doing the best for their baby can often close down conversations about feeding. Mothers are not to blame for not meeting their own breastfeeding goals. The promotion of breastfeeding is a collective responsibility and requires action and support for breastfeeding practices across government departments, HSE services, community agencies and employers. The breast milk substitute industry is large and growing, and its marketing undermines efforts to improve breastfeeding rates."

27/04/2022

17/11/2021

Both Amy & I hear our fair share of sleep myths. You’ve already heard about solids, schedules & milk. I’ll chime in with a few that I hear:

1. Give a bottle – sometimes people mean formula, but often even if someone is promoting exclusive breastfeeding they will recommend a bottle so that a mother can sleep. Or they will claim that this helps to make sure babies drink more, and sleep longer. But as Amy found, there is no evidence that this will work, and often just makes life more complicated.

2. Feed on a schedule – if you hear this, just unfollow for the sake of your mental health…

3. By x age/weight they should sleep through – I hear certain weights of children, or number of weeks, or when they’ve doubled their birth weight. It’s all a load of rubbish.

4. Start solids – you know the answer to this one already….

5. Stop breastfeeding – I call breastfeeding a ‘sleep scapegoat’. It’s a parenting behaviour that often gets the blame, even when it doesn’t deserve it. I cannot tell you how many parents have told me that they stopped feeding to sleep, or feeding at night, and it didn’t actually improve sleep

6. Stop bedsharing – bedsharing isn’t for everyone. But most people do it to preserve their sleep and their sanity. Stopping bedsharing often means, at least in the short term, that it will mean less sleep for the parent…

7. Move the baby out – again, this may just mean you have to traipse down the corridor to another room, or the baby may fully wake up and then be harder to calm down.

8. Ignore their cries – this can be stressful, difficult, and it doesn’t always work. It also flies in the face of a lot of what we now know about responsiveness.

9. Drowsy but awake – this is SO hard in the early weeks and months. It’s normal for babies to fall asleep feeding. Trying to keep them awake can just mean you’re setting yourself up for a difficult and unsuccessful bedtime. If they do it naturally – great. If not, let it go.

10. If you don’t teach them to sleep, it’s bad for their development – many people cite literature that relates to older children and true sleep deprivation, rather than the normal sleep fragmentation of infancy. They’re not the same thing folks…

**Taken from: Let’s talk about your new family’s sleep, by Lyndsey Hookway

06/11/2021

Have you recently found out you are expecting? We know all about birth plans BUT have you thought about your After Birth/postpartum plan?

If you are thinking of how will I cope in those early days ? Contact me now

Are you going to a baby shower and looking for a present with a difference? Vouchers for my services are perfect 😍

29/10/2021

New infographic to help with common questions and concerns about the vaccine in pregnancy.