Trish Hartman, Doula
570 Concession 17 West L9M 0K6 Penetanguishene, ON, Canada

If anyone questions the importance of the nutritional value in breastmilk beyond the first 12 months...show them this! YES...breastfeeding continues to be extre...mely beneficial. And this doesn't even mention the bioactive, gut microbiome building, infection fighting components. These don't suddenly expire when the child reaches a certain age. They are there are 12 months, 24 months, 36 months...and beyond. See more

There is no reason why a breastfeeding mother should not get a Covid-19 vaccine. Although some vaccines using weakened viruses are being researched, none seems ...to be on the verge of being ready for use. Even then, a weakened virus should not be a problem for the baby even if it did enter the milk. Covid-19 vaccines that have already been approved for use so far, or soon will be, are not live vaccines, but contain only small protein parts of the new coronavirus. Thus there is no reason to believe that the vaccine should be a problem for breastfeeding women or their breastfed babies. We can derive this knowledge from other vaccines that are commonly in use and have been for many years. My eBook (and paperback version) Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents has a section explaining various vaccines and breastfeeding. See also this article, just published a couple of days ago: https://www.infantrisk.com/covid-19-vaccine-pregnancy-and-b EDIT: I have never taken money or gifts from or been sponsored by any companies that make vaccines, have never given any presentations on their behalf and declare no conflict of interest in this respect. I simply believe that breastfeeding mothers should not be selected as a group whose breastfeeding makes it more dangerous either to themselves or their babies to receive medications or other treatments simply because breastfeeding is seen as an intrinsically dangerous activity. See more

Here is some helpful information on infant/toddler sleep needs and patterns. https://intuitiveparentingdc.com//developmentally-appropri#

For a baby who is breastfeeding effectively and efficiently, this is the #1 most effective way to increase your supply...not pumping.

You can breastfeed successfully, even if your baby is premature. Insist that they use a dropper to feed baby if they need to supplement, so baby won't get nipple confusion since it is too easy to get milk out of a plastic nipple.