How Virtual Doulas Can Help in the Age of Coronavirus (and Beyond!)
While there have been virtual doulas for a while now, the appearance of the novel coronavirus has transformed this once largely in-person role into a remote and critical one. We are living in unprecedented times, and many of us have been ordered to stay at home unless absolutely necessary. As hospitals work hard to reduce the possibility of transmission, extra people, including doulas and, in some cases, partners, are currently not allowed in several hospitals to support laboring people. We must protect healthcare workers and flatten the curve, and we empathize with how challenging it will be for partners to not be there physically....
Breastfeeding during Coronavirus
What you need to know about breastfeeding during the spread of Coronavirus. If you are due to have a baby soon or are currently breastfeeding, chestfeeding, or bottle feeding an infant, you likely have a lot of questions about how to and keep them safe. While there are still plenty of unknowns about COVID-19, the CDC has released guidelines with best practices for parents who are nursing. ...
Pregnant and preparing for the coronavirus
Concern about how to prepare for the coronavirus has certainly reached new heights this week. But if you’re pregnant, you probably have some unique worries about how this virus might affect your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period. Now is a good time to think through your game plan in the event that the coronavirus strikes close to home....
7 Important Tips for Surviving a Stay in the NICU
November 17 is World Prematurity Day—part of an entire month devoted to Prematurity Awareness. In recognition, we’ve compiled some critical tips and information about NICUs.
More babies than ever are spending time in NICU—up to 15 percent—potentially due to higher rates of cesarean birth, more screening for things like gestational diabetes and Group B Strep infection (meaning more mothers will test positive for these conditions), and more epidurals (which may lead to more fevers in mothers). ...
ACOG’s Postpartum Care Recommendations Are a Start, But We Need to Do So Much More
This year, ACOG—that’s the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists—came out with recommendations for optimizing postpartum care. There are lots of specifics, but the main takeaway is that new moms should get postpartum care sooner and more consistently than most do currently. That’s great news, of course....
This Week Is Black Breastfeeding Week—Here’s Why It’s So Critical
This week is the sixth annual Black Breastfeeding Week, an amazing campaign started by Kimberly Seals Allers, Kiddada Green, and Anayah Sangodele-Ayok to highlight the longterm “gaping racial disparity in breastfeeding rates.” This year’s theme is #LoveOnTop, “because love encompasses everything we do as parents from breastfeeding to nurturing others....
Annual Breastfeeding Subway Caravan Draws Enthusiastic Crowds
If you took the A train on August 3rd, you might have suddenly found yourself in the middle of a boisterous rally. The cause? Supporting the rights of New Yorkers to breastfeed—anyplace, anytime. Dozens, dressed in green shirts and holding signs, crowded onto train cars to participate in this year’s Breastfeeding Subway Caravan, organized by the New York City Breastfeeding Leadership Council....
