M is for Mastitis

/ Calming Waters Birth Services/
M is for Mastitis

During your breastfeeding journey you are almost guaranteed to have some engorgement—at a minimum when your milk comes in—another breastfeeding related ailment you may or may not face is mastitis.  Mastitis is an inflammation of tissue in your breast and may also include an infection.  The inflammation can cause tenderness or pain, swelling, redness, and warmth whether or not an infection is also present.  Many women say that having mastitis can feel like you have the flu, they say they feel completely run down with all over body tenderness.  Mastitis is most commonly associated with breastfeeding, but it can also occur in men and women who have not breastfed…

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L is for Lanolin

/ Calming Waters Birth Services/
L is for Lanolin

Lanolin is a product used in many skin care products to help with dry or cracked skin.  It is also used in several nipple creams that you may consider using during your postpartum period.  When you first discover you are pregnant and begin asking friends and family what important items you need when your baby is born, you may be encouraged to have nipple cream ready as soon as you get home from the hospital.  While it is true those first few days or weeks postpartum can result in painful or cracked nipples, this may not be true for you.  Painful nipples are not inevitable, but a result of a poor latch, and all it takes is one bad latch.  One bad latch in the beginning when you and your baby are both learning how to breastfeed can cause a cracked nipple which is then exasperated every time you nurse due to the moisture and sucking, which causes it to take FOREVER to heal…

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K is for Kegels

/ Calming Waters Birth Services/
K is for Kegels

Exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor are important during pregnancy and the postpartum period.  This is why it is often suggested to start doing exercises like kegels even before you are pregnant.  To understand exactly what a kegel is and its benefits, visit my K is for Kegels blog in the Pregnancy Blog.  If you aren’t interested in kegels you should at least consider other options for strengthening your pelvic floor muscles including Pilates and yoga…

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Creating the Matriarc App - Guest Blog

/ Matriarc/
Creating the Matriarc App - Guest Blog

If you asked me three years ago if I would have co-founded a technology company helping thousands of women heal their bodies post-childbirth, I would have called you crazy. But in fact, that’s exactly what MATRIARC has done through our interactive FREE digital app available on IOS. SO, how did I get here?

As a Pilates instructor and the owner of a health and wellness company for over a decade, I've helped many clients recover from a myriad of issues and injuries, some so severe they required surgery. As you'd expect in these cases, my clients were kept informed before, during, and after a procedure by their doctors, were prescribed physical therapy, and were given an abundance of information on how to properly build back strength…

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