Today is the day, today is the day! We haven’t had our stuff from moving for TEN weeks. TEN WEEKS! Yes, other than hotel rooms, I have been sleeping on an air mattress that long. I am confident too that my little babe learned to sleep through the night because I did not hear him cry from lack of proper sleep day after day after day.
So, while you are enjoying the Five this week, I am probably face down in my mattress that I haven’t seen in ten weeks. And to not have to eat on the floor, nurse the baby on the floor, color on the floor…well, you get the idea. We’re very thankful to have our stuff back.
Also, thank you to multiple people for ideas for this Five (Carolin, Kaitlyn!
Onto the Five!
1. Lansinoh Hot & Cold Postpartum Therapy packs!
Has anyone seen these yet and do they actually work? I’m so curious. I don’t have any affiliation with Lansinoh (I openly dislike their nipple cream Lanolin), but if these pads work I think they’re onto something. Postpartum pain is not a joke an can be extremely painful and variable for some women.
Check out their new product line here if you’re curious about what’s offered. I still think the best postpartum pads are made from stuffing ice into a newborn diaper.
2. This simple article on signs your baby is sick.
We had a little urgent care visit this week for a nursemaid’s elbow. Bless my on call peds ER nurse :). Anyways, I think this is a great resource for mamas of little babies (bookmark this page if you have littles and save yourself the google search later!).
I’m working my way through this three part series and am really enjoying the overview of the impact of formula marketing. As a midwife, women that choose to formula feed their infants are swayed by this marketing without even knowing it. It’s also very hard to counsel about formula feeding, the market of formula feeding and the benefits of nursing in a 20 minute prenatal visit. The method in which a woman chooses to feed her baby and how to prepare her for feeding her baby should be discussed in a number of prenatal visits.
For providers, you can get continuing education from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention if you watch the videos!
I personally don’t see this trend much in the patients populations I’ve worked in. But, every now and then, a mama is tired of being pregnant and is begging to be induced although the pregnancy is uncomplicated. I find in those moments a little handout like this in the exam room is really helpful.
5. And last, but probably the best of the Five: New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy.
He signed a law mandated THREE visits to a new mama’s home by a registered nurse after she has a baby. About damn time! I’m going to write this man a handwritten thank you note. Policy on the other side of this law is not going to be easy. But if you live in New Jersey, make sure you hold your state accountable for this law to go into full action.
And for all the other states, let’s fall in line. Postpartum care in the United States needs a revolution.
Other goodies. ..
- If you follow your alma maters, this may interest you. Otherwise, read on by all means. Anyway, Frontier Nursing University sent out their 2020 President’s Annual Report. The report as a whole is okay, but what is it worth a mention is the very clear objectives the school published at the end of the report. Under Objective 6, the school focused on increasing the public knowledge about CM/CNMs. This is an incredibly bold, professional and motivating thing to do FNU – well done.
- Read Aloud Revival’s August book list is here! I love Sarah’s recommendations and request the ones our library has for our next library stop. We’ve been doing a summer reading challenge at our library and the older kids have loved tracking their books.
- This article from JAMA reviews the need for a life course study for children born to mothers that had COVID-19 during their pregnancy. The authors use the 1918 pandemic as an analogy for the increased risks of kidney disease, heart disease and diabetes that were seen in the children born to the mothers infected while pregnant during the 1918 pandemic. For those that are in the maternity system for a number of decades to come, this is a little seed to put in the back of your head for future trends.
- Lastly, the 16 week template is almost done! Here’s a sneak peak…. Please see the 400 half unpacked boxes all over my house and excuse my tardiness. Can anyone else with three small children relate to the amount of STUFF in your life?! There’s a garage sale in our future.
I hope you guys like it! This template was a little different because the education becomes a little more specific to the gestational age instead of the pregnancy as a whole. A lot of the resources are the same, but I really tried to think about the most common questions and concerns that mamas at 16 weeks asked or wondered about and focused on those.
I also keep thinking this thought: What if these templates were used to educate women across the United States in their pregnancy? Would prenatal care improve? Would women and families feel more educated?
These are the burning questions in my mind…let me know what you think the answers are.
Check out all the handouts on the TOOLS & HANDOUTS page. Always free 🙂
Also, if you like the handouts and the blog, would you consider recommending it to a friend this week?! If you’re new to the blog, we’re trying to spread the midwifery love across the nation and make some more midwives. I have a dream that we can start handing out some scholarships to midwife students next year. Let’s make that dream a reality.
Hugs,
Jamie
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1 year ago on the blog…Midwife Monday: ACNM Core Data Survey
I never tried the baby version, but my sister gave me a toddler tula for Jack and I LOVED IT. Bu far my favorite carrier (I had three different brands!).
Trish – we have a baby one AND a toddler one. Love them both!