by Lara Whybrow
I have recently become a new mother and I thought that I would share some advice. I recently gave birth naturally to my first child Jasmine who weighed 3.86kg - she was a big baby! And she is very healthy and content.
I bought a breast pump and it was a real lifesaver. I was able to express a lot of breastmilk for my baby so if you can, get a breast pump before you give birth so that you are prepared in case you have problems.
I have recently become a new mother and I thought that I would share some advice. I recently gave birth naturally to my first child Jasmine who weighed 3.86kg - she was a big baby! And she is very healthy and content.
Nutritional Fears
Many pregnant women fear that their baby is not getting enough nutrients in the womb and they worry constantly about their diet. My advice is don't worry so much. Your body is perfectly designed to nurture the little being inside you so you will be nutritionally deficient before your baby is. And our diets are not as deficient as we might fear - I hardly ate any meat while I was pregnant and when they did an iron test on me in the last trimester of my pregnancy I had a rating of 10, the recommended rating was 12. Also, trust your instincts - if you feel like something then eat it because there is a reason for it. A few days before my iron test I felt like eating some Vitamin C sweets - turns out that ~Vitamin C assists with iron absorption. And while we are on the topic of nutrition - apparently calcium inhibits the absorption of iron so don't take the two pills together. No one told me this until the end of my pregnancy.Breast milk is the best for babies as we all know but sometimes a woman can have problems with breastfeeding. She could have slow letdown, which means that her milk doesn't "gush out" when her baby wants to drink but comes out much later and her baby has been crying for a long time. Sometimes the baby also doesn't have a good sucking reflex yet and can't get the milk out. In my case my nipples weren't very good for breastfeeding and my baby had trouble latching on. I also had a low milk supply so I had to give my baby formula in the beginning. I tried using nipple shields but they were difficult to work with - I had to try keep the nipple shield on and get baby in a good nursing position at the same time and then sometimes the nipple shields would leak all the milk out at the bottom so my baby didn't get anything. In addition, I had slow letdown. It was all very frustrating and made me want to cry because I really wanted to give my baby the best but it was so difficult. There was also the concern that I might stop producing milk because if you don't breastfeed you eventually stop producing milk. Conversely the more you breastfeed the more milk your body produces - supply and demand.
I bought a breast pump and it was a real lifesaver. I was able to express a lot of breastmilk for my baby so if you can, get a breast pump before you give birth so that you are prepared in case you have problems.
Urinary Tract Infections
UTI's are quite common after giving birth. Prevention is better than cure in this case because the recommended treatment for a urinary tract infection is antibiotics but then the antibiotics might give you thrush so you don't want to swop one pain for another do you? To prevent a UTI drink cranberry juice and water often and if you feel one coming on then drink bicarbonate of soda (about half a teaspoon in half a glass of water) or any other alkaliniser 1 - 2 times a day too and drink more water to help your bladder flush out the bad bacteria. Try to stay away from very sugary drinks and lots of milk, coffee or processed foods for a few weeks after giving birth.Coconut oil great for baby's skin
Many baby products have loads of chemicals and are lightly fragranced and these can all irritate your baby's very delicate skin. Pure coconut oil is very cheap and easily available in my country (South Africa) and might be in yours too. It contains no preservatives because it is a natural anti-fungicide and has anti-microbial qualities. That means that you can use it not only to moisturize but to prevent nappy rash too.Copyright © Lara Whybrow 2013 All Rights Reserved. No part of this website may be reproduced without Lara Whybrow's express consent.
Disclaimer: The information on this web site is presented for the purpose of educational and free exchange of ideas and speech in relation to health and awareness only. It is not intended to diagnose any physical or mental condition. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice and treatment of a licensed professional.
