There is more to giving a baby a bottle than just filling the bottle and putting it into your baby’s mouth. We asked the postpartum doulas and newborn care specialists of Orange County for their best bottle feeding tips and advice!
What Does a Postpartum Doula Do? - Part Three
Breastfeeding Must Haves
When it comes to breastfeeding all you need is your boob and your baby, right?
Well, sort of. Obviously the mother and the baby are the two most important factors in making this breastfeeding thing work but having other supplies on hand can vastly improve your experience. And while we believe that nursing your baby is one of the most natural acts in the world, we also recognize that it doesn't always come naturally. We've chatted about this very thing in a previous blog, but to recap, breastfeeding is a learned behavior, much like learning how to play the piano. You need certain components in place to start off on the right foot, but success takes time, patience, and practice.
Thankfully, with new product conveniences we have lots of tricks and tools that can enhance your breastfeeding experience, taking some of the stress away and providing you a greater opportunity to bond with and focus on your baby. Here are just a few of the "must haves" that we recommend.
Lessons on Compassion from "Call the Midwife"
There's nothing like a good Netflix binge to help calm the mind and reset the body for the week ahead. I've had a particularly rough week emotionally, so when Sunday rolled around with it's rainy OC weather and nothing on my to-do list, I figured what better time to catch up on "Call the Midwife!"
For those that are unfamiliar, "Call the Midwife" is a PBS show all about midwifery care in the 1950s and 60s. It is a beautiful show that portrays the dramatic ups and downs of midwifery, birth, life, and death in the impoverished East End of London. Each episode is guaranteed to tug at the heart strings.
In episode two of the fifth season, there is an interesting commentary on breastfeeding vs. formula feeding with a beautiful lesson on listening to an individual mothers needs and desires.
Without going into too much detail (because really, if you aren't watching this show yet, you should!!) one of the midwives is extremely vocal of her disapproval of formula feeding. Keep in mind that formula was a new phenomenon in the 1960s and that some people could barely afford to put food on the table. Sister Evangelina, the notoriously vocal midwife touts the benefits of breast milk as being the perfect food for baby and bonus, it's free!
As a Birth & Postpartum Doula, I of course, know her views to be valid and correct from a logical standpoint, but I cringed at the words she used and the attitude she portrayed, essentially poo-pooing anyone who dared challenge her expertise and views.
Fast forward to a mom struggling to breastfeed and this same midwife (while encouraging her to keep trying), dismisses her fears and the pain breastfeeding was causing her. It took bleeding nipples and a full emotional breakdown for the midwife to finally admit that she was wrong and that formula was NOT, in fact, evil.