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On Natural Birth...
The real question about safety is not whether you want a pleasant birth at home or a safe birth in the hospital ? It is, “Do you want to give birth at home and run the miniscule risk of an emergency that might (but not necessarily would) be handled better in the hospital, or do you want to give birth in the hospital and run the considerably increased risk of infection, the certainty of additional stress, and the near certainty of having unnecessary (and potentially risky interventions?”) ~ Henri Goer

Members of the home birth movement have chosen their alternative form of care not through faulty understanding of medical principles, but as a result of active and reasoned disagreement with them. ~ Bonnie O’Connor

 

~ MAMMA PRIMITIVA ~ International Midwifery School now OPEN! Classes Begin every Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer MammaPrimitiva.com

Post Partum Recovery & Care

  • Postpartum Exercises to Contract the Uterus Here
  • Postpartum Recovery and Care Here
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What if my babies belly button sticks out? (thank you Melissa for answering this one)

So, my son was born with a hernia! it is pretty common within my family. Both of my brothers and I were born with them. My fathers side of the family had a lot of them too. So my great grandmother and grandmother placed silver dollars on the belly buttons and taped them down. My mother listened to the doctors instead of my grandmothers and had both my brothers and myself operated on. After seeing that my sons belly button was growing bigger I decided to do what my grandmother did. 

 

When my son was first born I noticed he had an outy belly button. I didn't do anything for it for a few weeks. But then at about a month old I saw that his belly button was actually growing. So, I called my dad and got the information about what my great grandma and grandma had done in the past. At first I just place a silver dollar straight on my sons belly and after a week I started to see it was rubbing in his skin and causing a scab to form. So, I started wrapping the silver dollar in cloth and tapping straight over the belly button. The only time that I took the coin off was when Justice would take a bath of if poop got on the cloth. The coin as put back on immediately after his bath and changing! I left the coin on for a solid 3 weeks and his belly button says in now. I am so thrilled that I was able to do something that my Great grandmother did for her kids and not have my child operated on!

 

How do I repair  the recti muscles postpartum?
All women  need  desperately to bind their belly postpartum, wrap it for at least 40 days. If the recti muscles have spread (the muscles that run up and down the belly) she will work to bring those back together starting at the six wk time....but this binding is crucial for her....she needs to also remember this do not lift anything heavier than the baby...that is crucial... she wants her stomach muscles and pelvic floor muscles to heal and they both reflect each other.

 

Exercises postpartum
Exercises to contract the uterus, pelvic floor and organs back into their proper position after birth.

 

Exercise 1:
Contract or draw up the pelvic floor, starting with the anus, then the yoni, going up to the belly button and bringing it to your back….. hold for two to four seconds, and reverse with relaxing the muscles starting with the back, belly button, yoni and anus.relax for ten seconds.  Repeat five times.  Do these three times a day.  Work up gradually until you can hold the contraction for eight seconds. If you find your muscles getting sore, do not stop doing the exercises but decrease the time you hold each contraction, and then gradually increase it again. Work up to sets of ten.

 

Exercise 2:
When you are comfortably able to hold the contraction for eight seconds, add three to four short, fast, but strong twitches at the end of each long contraction.

 

Exercise 3:
Think of your bladder and uterus as an elevator which you are trying to raise to the higher floor, and visualize pulling them up into the abdominal cavity toward your stomach.  When you reach the top, go down floor by floor again, gradually relaxing the muscles in stages.  When you reach the basement, let go of all the tension and think release. Then come back up again to the first floor, so the pelvic floor is slightly tense and able to hold the organs firmly in place.

 

Exercise 4:
Raise the entire pelvic area, as though sucking water into the yoni.  Relax and repeat five times.  This series of five contractions may be repeated four to six times a day, building up to twenty to thirty contractions a day.

 

Find time to do these exercises every day.  You can do them at any time that is convenient- for instance, while stopped at a red light, watching TV, or doing dishes.

 


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Nursing

 

If your baby is not latching on well this may help (La Leche also has great suggestions)


When the baby first gets onto the breast squeeze some of the milk out first...the ducts surrounding the nipple are engorged so it makes it  harder for the baby to latch on, also pinch the nipple so it is more hard and easier to latch on to. The taste of the milk there is very inviting for the baby. 


 

When she takes a shower (dessy of course) tell her to massage her breasts down and squeeze like she was milking the tit of an animal to express a little. The truth is that we are given enough milk for two babies so that it will adjust as the supply and demand balance it out...basically what the baby drinks and nurses.


Remember of course they nurse for comfort and it benefit both baby and  mom’s uterus .


Let her breast be exposed to just air and of course our lovely friend...calendula would be a soothing lovely tea to put on, sleep with breasts open.

 

What about yeast infections affecting the baby?
It is important to get rid of yeast. Yeast is not normal but sadly enough appearing "normal" because of the diet these days.


Getting rid of yeast

Easy to heal yeast. as long as you do this. it is always successful. it would not matter where you birthed but it is not good for you and the baby will bathe in it when he/she is coming through and also swallow it. so get rid of it and replace it with good healthy bacteria. 

 

Yill be quick and clear about what you need to do.

  • it lives on sugar....stop eating all sugars, juices, all sugar...ice cream all of it..
  • stop using any soap in that special area. Wash many times a day with water
  • air it out by wearing a skirt and no underwear
  • you can make your calendula tea and wash in and out with that. that helps so much to kill the yeast, you can add a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to that tea too
  • you can get some good yogurt, with no sugar in it...alive with the healthy bacteria and put a teaspoon inside you when you go sleep.
  • wash with water as much as possible, do not used dyed toilet paper (i would wash instead...or should i say i do that anyways) 
  • you can put a carefully peeled garlic, do not nick it when you peel it or it will burn you and put it inside you too so it will kill the yeast a few hours a day. it is stronger so if it is irritating you take it out.
  • eat the plain yogurt as you most likely have the yeast throughout your system, eat all the mediterranean herbs, basil, thyme, oregano, and eat some raw garlic with your bread. 

There are many herbal remedies for yeast. From caledula to kuku’I nut sap. Know what the signs of yeast look like. It can be basically anywhere on the baby’s body but most likely in the folds in the butt and bottom as it is more warm and moist.