Pregnancy, Birth and Breastfeeding Information

I highly recommend all pregnant people look into creating space in the pelvis to allow baby to get into their optimal position prior to birth. I show couples attending my courses the amazing Spinning Babies website for regular exercises, as well as specialised advice for breech babies or posterior babies.

Check out Spinning Babies for more info.

For low risk healthy pregnancies, antenatal expressing (expressing colostrum before birth) is generally considered safe from 36 weeks gestation.

It is a great skill to learn and master before baby arrives, and collecting the colostrum you express allows you to have a small ‘just in case’ stash ahead of time. You may not need it at all, but in some situations it can be really helpful to have on hand.

For a great educational video on how to hand express, check out this link.

For information on how to store your colostrum / breastmilk and how long you can store it for, check out the Australian Breastfeeding Association page on this topic.

Getting a deep, comfortable and functional latch of your baby at the breast is vital for many reasons. It ensures baby is getting a good feed, it stimulates your milk supply to make the correct amount of milk for your baby, it ensures baby is able to drain the breast and it avoids nipple pain and damage.

There are many different techniques and suggestions around on what to do or try to attach your baby at the breast. I always recommend trying all of the different options and seeing what works best for you and your baby! What works will be different for everyone. And what is working may change as your baby grows.

Global Health Media has an excellent video on attachment that I highly recommend.

The Australian Breastfeeding Association also has an amazing video covering a lot of the basics of breastfeeding.

Tongue Tie (Ankyloglossia) is a midline congenital defect, that can impact a baby’s ability to move it’s tongue around the mouth. A whole range of movements may be impacted; poking the tongue out, lateral tongue movement and the tongue resting on the roof of the mouth for example. This can impact on an infant’s ability to attach well and feed at the breast. It can also impact eating solids and speech later in life.

Not all tongue ties will cause issues or need treatment. An assessment by a professional experienced in tongue tie may be warranted if you have ongoing breastfeeding issues including attachment problems, low supply, a baby who slips on and off the breast or a baby who clicks at the breast and these issues aren’t resolving despite assistance from your midwife, MCHN or IBCLC.

Tongue Tie can be a controversial topic amongst healthcare professionals. Very few GP’s, midwives or lactation consultants have adequate training to assess a tongue tie. If you suspect this may be an issue, please seek an expert assessment.

There is a great wealth of information on tongue and lip ties on this link from askthedentist.com, including the different types of ties, potential complications of untreated ties and treatment options. It is an American website, but the information contained within is still relevant.

The Breathe Institute (also American) also has some wonderful information on infant frenectomy (the process of releasing a tongue or lip tie). You can check them out here.

For discussion and support from Australian providers and families, check out the Tongue & Lip tie support Australia group on facebook. This is a private (closed) group that is a wealth of information and support for those facing a tongue or lip tie diagnosis and treatment. You can find the group here.

Your baby’s visual development goes through many changes in the first year of life. At birth, they are best able to focus on objects about 20 to 30cm away from their face. This is about the distance from the breast to the mother’s face!

Their visual abilities change rapidly as they grow over the first year of life, with the vision reaching 20/20 by approximately 3 years of age.

An infant’s eye colour is also not settled until approximately 12 months of age.

For more information on visual development in infants, including some signs to watch out for and when to seek extra help, check out this link by My Vision.