Secret Weapon(s) against Thrush

 

There it is, my secret weapon against thrush, particularly thrush diaper rash. A spray bottle, some water, and some tea tree, or sometimes called melaleuca, essential oil.  Spray it on after wiping and let it soak in. It is naturally anti fungal and works wonders.  I use about 5 drops to 1 cup of filtered water.  This would also work for nipples infected with thrush, just spray it on after feeding and let air dry.  Reapply as needed.  

If only thrush really were combated with a spray bottle! Thrush is a fungus that doesn't seem to want to relocate once established.  It just wants to take up more and more space.  Thrush, or yeast, is often an under diagnosed reason for sore nipples. If you have sore nipples despite good milk transfer, and a comfortable latch, try looking at some of the remedies below, it just might cure those ouchy nipples!If your baby has a diaper rash that won't go away despite preventative measures, and looks more like red raised bumps than just redness, your baby could have a diaper rash caused by yeast.  Infants can get yeast in their mouth as well.  This is identified by white, plaque-like spots that don't go away when wiped off. If your baby is struggling with either of those, try the list below and see if it doesn't help. 

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• Dietary changes are the first line of defense, namely, cutting out all sugars and refined carbs.  When you are nursing it can be hard to eat good, wholesome food all of the time. Sometimes sugar seems like the quickest way to acquire energy to get the next thing done, but it never pays off.  Yeast thrives off of sugar and will continue to prosper in a body fed with sugar.  Sugar substitutes are often okay during the time you are killing off the yeast, also known as candida.  Maple syrup, honey, raw agave nectar, and coconut palm sugar can be okay for some women, but use your common sense and listen to your body. You will usually notice a flair up almost immediately if you are taking in too much sugar. Babies too, must cut out sugar in their diet while attempting to kill any yeast.  For them this would be no fruits or grains if they are on solids, if not, they will benefit from your new found sugar freedom!
• Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that crowd out the yeast in your system.  They can be taken in supplemental form, which if the situation is chronic, is warranted, or in food form.  Either way increase your intake. Yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, lactofermented vegetables, fermented pickles (see picture, yum!) and kombucha, all contain yeast fighting probiotic strains. Saccharomyces boulardii is a particular probiotic strain that excels at fighting yeast.  As a nursing mother battling with yeast, I highly recommend adding this to your regimen. If not a broader spectrum probiotic will do too.  Infants and babies can also benefit from probiotic supplements.
• Diluted grapefruit seed extract on your nipple, and/or baby's diaper rash, s is also a great way to beat thrush. Check out this article for more detailed information on how exactly to dilute the grapefruit seed extract, how to apply, and what type is most effective. 
• The homeopathic remedy Borax is another way to ward off yeast.  It can be given to both mother and baby.  The best way to take it is to dissolve a couple of pellets in a glass of water.  Sip on this water throughout the day.  It's also the easiest way to give it to babies. If they are young enough you can put it in an eyedropper for them.  
• Yin Care is a blend of Chinese herbs that are a powerhouse of antifungal, antimicrobial plants.  This can be used anywhere candida lurks. It also can heal sore nipples caused by bacteria as well.  Yin Care is excellent for tons of skin conditions from eczema to hives.  I highly recommend keeping a bottle in your house. A little bottle goes along way as it has to be diluted before use.  It can be applied with a spray bottle, a cotton ball, or a gauze pad. 
• Finally, thyme essential oil is a great anti-fungal.  Dilute a few drops in a teaspoon of oil and apply to nipples or diaper rash (just use one or two drops for the diaper rash as it is powerful stuff). 

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but a few effective measures you can take in your battle against yeast.  Arm yourself with a spray bottle, cut out sugar, and be firm, you will come out victorious!!

This post was featured in Healthy Home Economist's Monday Mania.

Self Care for Midwives, Doulas, and other Birth Attendants

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I often feel as if I go through a mini postpartum after I attend a birth.   The first couple of days I'm on that natural birth high.  The mom's pheromones are known to affect the dad, turning him into a softer, more sensitive partner, but why not the other people attending her labor?  I find myself generally a more gentle and appreciative mother and wife in the first few days after a birth, not to mention weepy!  And then, either the sleep deprivation sets in, or my hormones come back to their senses, and I can turn into a cranky, overtired woman, almost postpartum myself!

This past year though, I have found a few things that help me reset my clock and nurture myself post-birth. After all midwives, doulas, and anyone else attending a labor and birth, give their all.  It is almost impossible to be with a woman in birth, and be only half present.  We are so giving, that at times we lose sight of our own comfort and needs. I  have found the following things to be simple, yet effective in helping me care for myself so that I can keep on caring for others.


1.  YOGA 

Sometimes I forget to breathe at a birth, or feel my feet on the ground.   I do find most births grounding in nature, but at times we midwives hold our breaths,  and then forget to exhale.  We often get into funky positions and stay there for a long time.  It is usually late at night by the time we get around to suturing, and we find ourselves tired, and in a hunched over position for another hour or so.  Let's face it, this is when stir ups would be useful!  And then of course, we have to gaze and adore the bundle of cuteness curled up next to its mother, that's the best payment!  All of these positions entail a hunched over posture.

I have found restorative chest openers an antidote to this predicament.  Supta bada konasana, or reclined angle pose is my absolute go to after I get home, even if it's 4 am. Take a bolster, sit at it's edge, and place the soles of your feet together in bada konasana.  Lean back over the bolster so that your chest is forced open.  Feel the breath move all the way up into your collarbones.  Feel them smile at you! 

The photo above is also a great pose to open your chest, and relieve tight shoulders. It can easily be done after that tough suturing job! I also like to just do savasana on the floor for a few breaths. Feeling myself on the floor helps me to slow down and reenter my body, and come back to the present.  What a gift yoga is! 

2.  ARNICA

It turns out that arnica is not only useful for mothers after childbirth, but for midwives too!  Arnica, a homeopathic remedy, is great for easing soreness and exhaustion in birth attendants.  It is also useful for jet lag, something we could use to describe the feelings after a night or two sans sleep.  I put it in my water bottle at the birth, and take it for a day or two, refilling it when I refill my water.  It has really helped me to reset my clock and to feel not so achy the next day.  It will often give me a second wind if I need to stay up for the day, this is why it's used for jet lag.  I have found this aspect of arnice helps immensely as well.  Naturally, I am a night owl (didn't I pick the right profession?!), so if I let myself, one birth could through me into months of late nights, but since I am not in college any longer, this lifestyle is not conducive to my life now. Arnica helps me stay away from this pitfall and maintain somewhat normal hours...for a midwife!

3.  RESCUE REMEDY

Birth is beautiful, amazing, a miracle, and any other superlative you want to attach to it. It is all of those things and more.  I am grateful beyond words for the opportunity to witness this act of creation.  But, I am also a midwife, and do believe part of my role as a midwife, is to guard the parameters of safety for mother and babe. This is a huge responsibility.  At times I  find it can make me tense and over vigilant.     That's when I reach for my Rescue Remedy,  a flower essence known to calm panic, relieve stress, and be useful in emergency situations.  Rescue Remedy, sometimes called Five Flower Essence is very calming and gentle.


I hope these tips are useful to you midwives, doulas, dads, sisters, friends, or anyone who is blessed to attend a birth.  If you have anything you do after births to help your recovery, please share.  All too often we neglect our own health  in order to serve others, but this won't take us very far. May we all take care of ourselves so that we can keep on helping the mothers and babies of the earth!

Right Side Up - Breech Babies

The women in the above photo are trying to right a baby. This directionally challenged baby is coming bottom first. The method they are using to try to turn the baby, hard to decipher in this photo, is called moxibustion. Moxa, or mugwort, is heated and, like acupuncture, used over certain pressure points to induce heat to the region, and thereby blood flow. It works incredibly well for turning babies upside down, exactly where they need to be in order to be born.

Four percent of all babies present breech at term, or 37 weeks of gestation and beyond. How do you imagine that those four percent are born? Does the doctor or midwife, pull them out by their feet? What is the danger of a breech birth? Why do we never hear of babies born breech anymore?

A recent study in Tel Aviv has challenged the wisdom of late that breech babies should be born via Cesarean section. In the 'old days' the skills to deliver a baby coming breech, feet or butt first, were taught in medical school. After 2000, this was no longer the case. The Term Breech Study, the largest of its kind on breech births, found that breech babies delivered vaginally had a 1% increase of death in the first six weeks of life. The study also found that for mothers there were more benefits to a vaginal birth. From then on, the only doctors to attempt breeches were the old school doctors who had learned from experience that babies born breech, stubbornly do just as well as their head first counterparts. There were many issues with the 2000 Term Breech Study including research bias, and the fact that it's near impossible to randomize such a study.

The Tel Aviv study is urging medical schools to reintroduce the skills of delivering breech babies. Their research shows that there is no increase risk to a baby born breech vaginally and that mothers do better with morbidity and mortality when delivered vaginally. Professor Glezerman, a researcher on the trial, states that a C-section is no minor event in a woman's reproductive life, that it impacts future pregnancies, uterine health, and subsequent labors.
Although, not mentioned in the study, increasingly the research is pointing towards health effects of babies born by C-section as well. In one of the more recent findings, babies born by Cesarean section are at a higher risk of developing celiac disease. Another reason to avoid unnecessary surgery, who would want to assign anyone to a diet that prohibits bread, pasta, cookies!! Poor baby.

So how do you reconcile the lack of skill of the current docs with a pending breech birth? Look at the photo above for some inspiration - you make all efforts to turn the baby before delivery. Here are some tips to get you started:

• Acupuncture/moxibustion is a powerful tool for breech babies. Do the moxa each day while squatting and making figure eights with your hips. I'm not kidding! One time I had an acupuncturist for a client, with a persistent breech presentation. She tried everything under the sun, before turning to her chosen profession, to turn her little girl. Two nights of these contortions and the babe turned!

• Pulsatilla 200C one time. My little girl was breech until about 35 weeks. I never resorted to this, but I was ready to. It was suggested to make it a one time event, and to do it consciously. Light some candles, pour some tea, put your hips up, and take the pulsatilla. Engage with your baby, visualize his little head snuggled tight in your pelvis. This can be a really powerful way to turn a baby.

• The breech tilt. This is an old recommendation, but really useful. The idea is to elevate your hips higher than your pelvis, to disengage the baby so that when you stand up, the baby will realign itself the proper way. You can do this by laying an ironing board angled against a coach and laying down, with your feet up and head on the floor. Or you can make a stack of pillows and put your hips atop the pillows. Do these for at least 15 minutes twice a day. Talk with your baby and shine a flashlight starting at the top and moving to the pelvis, "For now and always baby, follow the light."

• Webster's Technique is a chiropractic technique that is often employed to help turn breech babies. It's not really 'turning' the baby, it's addressing tightness and torsion, among other issues in the mother's pelvis. Let's be fair after all, there are two players at work here, it's not just the baby choosing to be breech. Fibroids, cysts, and other issues in the mother's pelvic can force the baby into a breech position. Webster's technique can address some of these problems.

• One of the interesting theories about why babies are breech is not a physical reason. There is a theory that babies who are breech do so out of a need to get their mother's attention. It's as if they are saying, "Hello, remember me, I need you to pay attention." It could be this lack of attention that is causing them to swim close to mama's heart, a gentle pull on it's strings, those tiny fingers dialing your number before you've even heard them cry. It's a sweet thought and one I found bore a lot of fruit for women who were breech beyond 35 weeks. It tended to happen to women who worked, worked, worked right up until the end, women undergoing a lot of stress, and women who maybe had some hesitancy about becoming a mother. Overall tension also produces lots of tension in the pelvic region, which can be a culprit in breech presentation. If you are breech these themes are worth exploring through journaling, art, conversation, etc...

• If none of that works, there is always frozen peas. Put a pack of frozen veggies on your babies bum. They won't much like it and will soon get the picture that that's not where they should be hanging out and will head to, uh, warmer regions!

The most important thing with breech delivery is the skill and experience of the practitioner. If none of the above work, seek out someone experienced with breech births. These tend to be the older male obstetricians and older midwives. Trust your instincts, as always. And encourage medical schools to teach the skills of delivering babies who for some reason, want to land in this world, feet first.

The Holistic Baby Guide

Dr. Randall Neustaedter's new book is now available! I'm so excited to read this book. I love that its focus is solely on babies. There are so many foundations being laid, emotional, spiritual, and physical, in that first year. This is why it's important to take care as to what we put into our babies rapidly developing systems, particularly the immune system. Antibiotics, steroids, even vaccines can all suppress a babies' immune system. Having gentle, yet effective alternatives to try before resorting to more powerful drugs is such a gift. For the past two years, I have taken the holistic pediatric seminars with Dr Neustaedter and his colleagues and have found them to be so useful both as a mother and a midwife. His level of confidence in these alternative therapies is contagious. If you are pregnant or a new parent, or know someone who is, you will benefit from this book.