Agape Birth Doula Services

Trained Doula Services For Atchison, KS and the surrounding areas.

Elizabeth

We Need to Talk About PTSD in NICU Parents

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“You see, more than 40 percent of NICU mums experience postnatal depression (compared to 5-10 percent of mothers who deliver at full-term without complication) and more than half report symptoms of anxiety and PTSD.”
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Birth Becomes Her

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Midwives are amazing people and I am so honored to work with them and learn from them!

Happy National Midwifery Week!
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Sleeping Through the Night, Self Soothing and ‘Good’ Babies: Why We Need to Stop Setting Mothers up to Fail – Raised Good

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“So, what are the quiet truths of infant (and toddler) sleep?

“That it is normal for babies to wake through the night, as often as every two hours for many, many months… and need their parents to help them fall back to sleep.

“That it is normal for a child’s sleep to take five steps forward and three steps back and one step sideways and then turn inside out….sleep progress is anything but linear.

“That it is normal for babies and toddlers to breastfeed to sleep (and through the night).

“That it is normal for a baby to crave constant contact, to nap on her mother and to cry when she leaves the room to bring her back into proximity. This is not a sign that she is “spoilt”, this is a sign that she knows how to ensure her own survival.

“That it is normal for toddlers to wake through the night and need mum or dad’s reassurance…to make them feel safe enough to surrender to sleep again.

“That it is normal for babies to sleep like babies, and not like adults.

“That it is normal for families to cosleep in the way they choose – bedsharing, room sharing, sidecar cot, musical beds – and it is normal for families to enjoy it…and not want to change a thing.

“That it is normal for mothers to cry and to need help – that is NOT a sign she is failing or in need of a “solution”.

“Because the truth is that human infants are the most immature, contact-dependent social mammal on the planet, which, by definition means that human mothers are among the most needed, hardworking and exhausted mothers on the planet.”
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Motherly

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Really feeling this one, as my baby became a one-year-old yesterday. ❤️
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Gestational Diabetes: beyond the label

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There is a lot of good info in this article. The end has a lot of good tips about what to do during labor and after delivery, for both mother and baby, if dealing with gestational diabetes

“High BGLs in pregnancy alter the growth and development of the baby, increasing the chance of particular complications occurring. However, the label ‘gestational diabetes’ is problematic because it is poorly defined and there is a lack of evidence to demonstrate that labelling and treatment improves outcomes. Guidelines do not support induction of labour for GD unless BGLs are high. Inducing women before 40 weeks with high BGLs reduces the chance of a large baby and shoulder dystocia, but increases the chance of other complications. Labour and birth care for women with high BGLs should centre on minimising the chance of shoulder dystocia, and supporting the baby to regulate their own BGLs after birth.”
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