Why Eat Dates in Pregnancy + 5 Delicious Date Recipes
What if I told you that you could eat a single food in the last weeks of pregnancy that may increase your likelihood of spontaneous labor, increase your cervical dilation and effacement upon admission, decrease the likelihood of Pitocin use in labor, and might cut your active labor time nearly in HALF? If you’re in your third trimester, I sense your ears perking up right about now. Maybe so! Consuming date fruit appears to help in all of these areas and more.
The Happiest Baby on the Block: New Life Birth Services Book Club
Do you know the five methods to turn on your baby’s calming reflex switch? How can you combine the 5 S’s to calm even the most unsettled baby. I like this book because it covers an area I find many parents fail to plan for: the fourth trimester.
A Warm and Nourishing Postpartum Meal: Chicken, Spinach, and Kidney Beans
Warm, nutritious food during the postpartum period helps the body heal after birth, provides comfort, and is an easy way to show your support and love to a new family.
16 Postpartum and Parenting Hacks You Must Know
As the saying goes, “Parenting doesn’t come with a manual.” That may be true, but sometimes little tips and tricks can help make things easier and help you come up with your own manual.
Katrina's Fiber-Rich Fudge Recipe
Fiber may be the unsung hero when it comes to nutrition in pregnancy and postpartum. Most of us know about the benefits of prenatal vitamins, iron-rich foods, and even what foods carry risks with them during pregnancy (we miss you, sushi), but we don’t see a lot of mainstream discussion about the importance of fiber in pregnancy and during the postpartum time. Fiber is known to promote bowel regularity, increase satiety, improve gut health, and help to maintain stable blood glucose levels — all truly heroic feats when it comes to looking at a singular factor.
Becoming Us: New Life Birth Services Book Club
Becoming Us by Elly Taylor is a guide for building and maintaining relationships during the big life change of having a baby. Whether it’s your first baby or your fourth, there is a little something in this book for just about everyone.
Natural Hospital Birth: New Life Birth Services Book Club
Because I have so many expectant parents who have planned a hospital birth, I without hesitation recommend Natural Hospital Birth — The Best of Both Worlds by Cynthia Gabriel to them. Many of my clients have already researched their childbirth options and a hospital birth is their only choice, but they have the desire to have as much of a “natural” birth as possible. This book, chapter by chapter, advises, encourages, and educates the reader so that they are well prepared for their hospital birth experience. This is especially beneficial for first-time parents.
Inclusive Support for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Community during Pregnancy and Postpartum
We teamed up with a member of the New Mexico Commission for Deaf & Hard of Hearing (thanks Trevor!) to develop a resource list as a step toward making sure DHH community members are properly supported through pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood.
17 Tips for Breastfeeding and Returning to Work
Returning to work after having a baby can be a time filled with many emotions for a breastfeeding parent. While some might be dreading it, others may look forward to being back at their job. Either way, returning to work does not have to mean the end of breastfeeding. Here are 17 tips to make your return to work go a little more smoothly.
Tips for Managing Stress in Pregnancy
Parents can experience stress even in the most blissful pregnancies! From decision fatigue to jumping down the “Google Rabbit Hole”, there are many reasons why someone may experience stress in pregnancy. We know that experiencing prolonged levels of stress isn’t good for parents or their unborn babies, but what can be done about it?
How Doulas Support Through a Pandemic
Faced with rapidly changing circumstances, we at New Life Birth Services are increasingly committed to supporting families. We're still attending births in Albuquerque at the places that we are welcome. In hospitals that have now put increased constraints on the number of support people allowed during labor, we are providing support before our clients head into their place of birth and virtually throughout the experience.
Mindfulness for New Parents
Mindfulness is the practice of intentional, non-judgmental awareness of yourself and your surroundings in the present moment. Bringing your thoughts away from past events or future planning for just a few minutes each day can help reverse your body’s reaction to stress and promote emotional regulation. Non-judgmental mindfulness involves checking in with yourself both physically and emotionally on a regular basis.
Body Image in Pregnancy and in the Postpartum Time
Weight. Celebrated and vilified. Perpetuated on social media. How does this impact our views about our bodies during pregnancy and during the postpartum time? When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I remember seeing these beautiful pregnant bodies on social media with perfect silhouettes and glowing skin. When I was newly postpartum, I remember seeing ad-after-ad about “losing the baby weight” and “getting your pre-baby body back”.
How TENS Can Reduce Pain in Labor
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a non-invasive, drug-free technology which can be used to empower laboring mothers by relieving pain. The TENS unit is a small, lightweight, battery-powered, handheld control, like a TV remote with wires that connect to small adhesive pads placed on the lower back. We are excited to offer this effective pain management tool!
Establishing a Good Breast Milk Supply
As parents, we naturally want to ensure that our children are well fed no matter how or what we choose to feed them. For parents choosing to breastfeed, a common question is “how do I make sure I make enough milk?” While there is no hard and fast answer to this question because every person is different, there are some general “best practices” when establishing breast milk supply.
The Benefits of Postpartum Belly Binding
There are many benefits of belly binding. The two that most women notice immediately after binding is the hip and lower back support. As you know, when you are pregnant, your hips need to expand to allow room in your pelvis. Once baby is born, your hips will slowly move back into place. This can sometimes cause some soreness or discomfort. Wearing the bind provides constant support to your hips and can reduce some of that discomfort.
Doulas are for Dads (and all Partners for that matter)!
Doulas are a key ingredient to a well-supported birth. This is my story about our twin birth where MJ Vargas, our doula, showed how the support of a doula is for partners just as much as it is for the birthing mother.
