Pregnancy, Birth and Recovery: FitNest Mama

Breastfeeding can be so difficult and painful and doesn’t always come naturally. My next guest has gone through the horrendous pain of mastitis to create her own innovative solution to support her in her breastfeeding journey. She has developed this idea into a business that is helping mothers to breast or bottle feed their baby in comfort. 

Amanda Rowe is a mum of three and the founder of the ‘Feeding Friend’. The ‘Feeding Friend’ is a feeding pillow that provides breastfeeding or bottle feeding arm support. 

It is not a typical nursing pillow. Amanda’s mission is to help mums create a connection and bond by aiding them to hold their baby and take all of the pressure off the loading arm to help mum’s posture, self-care, comfort and letdown during feeding. 

I am so grateful to hear and discuss Amanda’s journey and the challenges she went through while breastfeeding and the motherhood experience.

To celebrate my 50th podcast episode we are doing a giveaway! If you would like to go into the draw to win your very own Feeding Friend AND 3 months membership to FitNest Mama, click here! Hurry, entries close on the 7th of September at midnight!

LINKS:

Feeding Friend Giveaway: https://members.fitnestmama.com/giveaway

The Feeding Friend Instagram: @feeding_friend

The Feeding Friend website: https://feedingfriend.com.au/ 

Join the 3 Day Free Postnatal Running Challenge

Quick Quiz:https://www.fitnestmama.com/quiz

3 Ways to Prepare for Birth: www.fitnestmama.com/challenge

Website:https://www.fitnestmama.com/ 

Instagram:@fitnestmama 

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In today’s episode, I’m chatting with the amazing Julie Blandthorn about alcohol during pregnancy and breastfeeding. This can be a very confusing topic with so much competing information available and you may not know who to listen to. Julie is a clinical midwife consultant at the Women’s Alcohol and Drug Service at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne. She is a wealth of experience and information and I’m very grateful to have her on the show today.

We’ll be discussing the effects of drinking alcohol in pregnancy and in breastfeeding. Recently, in 2020, the NHMRC guidelines have been updated to include that alcohol is no longer recommended in any amount during pregnancy. Studies have found even small amounts of alcohol can affect the baby’s developing brain and body.

Alcohol affects the developing fetal brain much worse than heroin.

However, it’s different in breastfeeding. Alcohol isn’t stored in the breastmilk. We used to be told to express out the tainted breast milk and we’d be all clear but once you start expressing, the alcohol flows straight back into the milk. Expressing will not reduce the alcohol levels in your breastmilk any quicker than if you didn’t express.

Julie will provide safe strategies to breastfeeding your baby whilst having a drink of alcohol. She will also run through the effects of alcohol in the breastmilk on a baby.

Julie explores her recommendations in-depth:

• Eat before and while you’re drinking.
• Breastfeed before drinking alcohol.
• Allow 2 hours for every standard drink to be alcohol-free.
• It is better to breastfeed with a small amount of alcohol in the system than to feed the baby formula.
• Know that when you do breastfeed your baby with alcohol in your system, your baby will be getting 20% less than normal.
• Express and store milk prior to drinking.
• Do not sleep with the baby in the bed if you’ve been drinking.
• Download the Australian Breastfeeding Association App.
• Have a safety plan to have someone who hasn’t been drinking to look after the baby.

I found this episode to be full of useful and enlightening information and I know you will too!

LINKS:

Resources mentioned:

• Australian Breastfeeding Association Alcohol App: ‎Feed Safe on the App Store (apple.com)
• Research Study: Association between prenatal alcohol exposure and craniofacial shape of children at 12 months of age — Monash University
• Australian Breastfeeding Association |
• A-Z fact sheets | The Royal Women's Hospital (thewomens.org.au)

Preparing for birth Pelvic health checklistFree 7 Day Trial Pregnancy Workouts
Free 7 Day Trial Postnatal WorkoutsFitNest Mama WebsiteInstagram @fitnestmama

Prenatal workouts: https://www.fitnestmama.com/program/pregnancy-exercise-program-online/
Postnatal workouts: https://www.fitnestmama.com/program/postpartum-exercise-program-online/

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Welcome back to the Pelvic Floor Friday session!

Today, we are focussing on a quality pelvic floor lift. I am going to talk you through a few ways of imagining your pelvic floor, we are going to do a lovely lift together, and then focus on that full relaxation and release.

So, although I am talking you through this pelvic floor set, if you’ve been listening to me for awhile you will know I always say how everyone is on their own journey,

Everyone is different.

Focus on quality over quantity.

And if you can’t hold for as long as I say, please don’t.

Any discomfort or questions please do stop and consult your healthcare provider.

Right, let’s dive in.

Find a position where you can relax.

1. Focus on draw string bag. Close off the bag, then lift it up off the ground.

2. Clock face. Bring the 4 points on the clock together in the middle.

3. Relaxation: focus on full release. Imagine a bud is blooming. Dropping and flopping. Avoiding straining down, instead release and let all the muscle tension drop away.LINKS:

Preparing for birth Pelvic health checklistFree 7 Day Trial Pregnancy Workouts
Free 7 Day Trial Postnatal WorkoutsFitNest Mama WebsiteInstagram @fitnestmama

Prenatal workouts: https://www.fitnestmama.com/program/pregnancy-exercise-program-online/
Postnatal workouts: https://www.fitnestmama.com/program/postpartum-exercise-program-online/