Rebekah Mustaleski is a Certified Professional Midwife with Roots & Wings Midwifery in Knoxville, TN, where Rebekah promotes evidence-based maternity care for families seeking an out of hospital delivery. She is working to improve maternal outcomes during the childbearing year and to promote a sustainable business model for midwifery practices across the country. Rebekah is co-owner of Roots & Wings Midwifery, LLC as well as Treasurer for the Tennessee Midwives Association.
The first hour after birth is referred to as “the golden hour” because it is a unique time of transition for both the birthing parent and the baby. When a baby is placed on the mother’s chest or abdomen and receives early skin-to-skin contact, this intimate connection helps both individuals begin the physiological adaptations to life postpartum. In addition to supporting the physical changes happening during this time, immediate skin-to-skin contact promotes bonding and emotional safety, which decreases stress levels for both. Although the first hour after birth is particularly important, you can get the benefits of skin-to-skin contact with your baby at any time! Let’s take a closer look at what you can your baby will gain from skin-to-skin contact in the postpartum and how it can benefit your breastfeeding relationship.
It’s summertime! And in many parts of the United States, the hot weather is here. Some people love a summer pregnancy: they feel their best and love the summer sun and pool days with their best friends. But not all pregnant women think that way! You’re carrying a little heater around in your belly while pregnant, so the hot summer months can be overwhelming and make you so grateful for air conditioning. Whichever part of the spectrum you fall on, I’ve put together a summer pregnancy survival guide for you. I want you to be able to take care of yourself and your baby in the hot, summer heat and enjoy this part of your pregnancy!
Pregnancy is such a fun and exciting time—there’s nothing quite like preparing to welcome a new soul into the world! But with the anticipation of meeting your baby, can come a host of unexpected aches in your body caused by the physical and hormonal changes of pregnancy. It takes a lot of work to form a whole new person inside you. Plus your body is shifting and accommodating to allow your baby to grow and develop. The benefits of compression during this transitional time of life have been used for ages around the world and thankfully, Motif Medical has developed maternity compression products that are designed to support a healthy pregnancy and promote a smooth postpartum recovery. Even better than that, most of Motif’s maternity support garments are multi-purpose and can be used during pregnancy and into the postpartum, too!
Getting ready to welcome your first baby into the world is a fun and exciting time for new moms plus the whole family! But if you’re the one giving birth, there may be some uncertainty and anxiety involved when you think about your baby’s birthday. Don’t let that worry you! The majority of first-time moms have a lot of questions about how they can prepare for birth or what they should expect during delivery. Let’s take a look at some of the topics you can discuss with your family and healthcare provider before the big day.
Most people who choose to see a midwife during the pregnancy are planning to have a vaginal delivery and not planning on having a cesarean section. Some people who have c-sections are even planning a home birth for their birth experience. Unfortunately, labor doesn’t always go the way we want it to. Part of a midwife’s job is to make sure that both the birthing person and the baby are safe throughout the birthing process and sometimes it becomes obvious that a c-section is the safest way for a baby to be born. While midwives generally try to avoid interventions, when they are in the best interest of the mom and baby, we are really glad they are available! But if this scenario happens to you, you might be wondering—what your midwife will do now.
If you’re giving birth at the hospital or birth center, you’ll want to pack your hospital bag when you’re in the third trimester or sometime around 34 weeks pregnant. Don’t wait until you’re close to your due date! If you wait until the last minute, it’s easy to forget something. We want to make packing even easier for you, so we’ve created a hospital bag checklist to make sure you’ve got all the essentials covered for you and your baby.
The first hour after birth is often referred to as “the golden hour.” Just like the magical time before the sun sets, when everything seems to glow, so this hour after birth is precious and fleeting. It’s a pivotal and important time of transition for both the mother or birthing person and the baby, as you are both shifting from being one to being two. And with this shift comes a whole lot of physical change—the mother’s circulatory system is adjusting to changes in blood volume, the reproductive system is working to contract the uterus, the baby’s lungs begin to breathe for the first time and their cardiovascular system is making changes in how the blood flows through the body. A lot is going on in these moments that can’t be seen with the human eye!
There is nothing else in life that can be compared to childbirth. Birth is unpredictable, and almost always goes differently than you envision, and while your body is doing all of the work, it is largely outside of your control. Birth is physical, yes, but it is also a mental, emotional, and spiritual process that happens as you meet your new baby. Put simply, a lot is going on when you give birth! And while a lot is happening, there isn’t a lot of time or energy for you to use making important decisions about the care you want during birth.
Did you know that the time after you give birth to your baby is called the “Fourth Trimester?” The first three months after delivery is a time when there are enormous changes happening in your body. You’ve spent the last nine months growing and nourishing your baby inside. Now you are continuing to support your baby once they’re on the outside, so this is a time where you need to focus on taking excellent care of your physical self. Your body needs physical, emotional, and nutritional support during the Fourth Trimester to transition from pregnancy to postpartum in a healthy and uncomplicated way.
Bringing a new life into the world is a miraculous experience, but it also comes with a unique set of challenges, especially if you delivered your baby by cesarean section (C-section). Whether you had a planned surgical birth or the events of labor led you to having a cesarean birth, recovering from a C-section involves more than just physical healing--it requires holistic self-care that encompasses your body, mind, and spirit. Here’s some tips to help you nurture yourself during the postpartum if you gave birth via C-section:
